Academy for Mutants!
by RaiynetheHedgehog
Summary: (On temporary hiatus) Sonic and friends have always been humans with supernartural abilities. What happens when new dangers threaten the one place in which they are all completely safe? Sonic/Blaze Shadow/Amy Knuckles/Rouge Tails/Cosmo, third category Romance, please review!
1. Welcome to the Academy for Mutants!

…**I know that I still have to update my Darkness Awakens story, but I am having a severe case of writer's block. In the meantime, since I don't want you all believing that I'm dead or that I completely forgot my story, this is just more of a random idea that hit me, and I wanna see how it works out… This sudden inspiration came from X-Men. I just recently saw the newest one that came out, called X-Men, First Class. It is AWESOME! You have to watch it, guys! Anyways, feedback is always welcome, peoples! I love reviews! :)**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog.**

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><p>His knee bounced up and down anxiously as his eyes continued to dart from the clock, to the man at the front of the room, then to the clock on the wall again. Those hands were moving so <em>slow<em>, taunting him as they prolonged the time that he had to spend in this torture chamber longer than necessary. He tried to stop his anxious movements, gripping his arm tightly, but it was no use. The clock only moved slower. He continued to stare at it, silently willing for it to move faster, wishing that he had suddenly developed the power of telekinesis so he would be able to move the hands of the clock with the mere thought of it.

"And just _what_ is so fascinating about the clock, Sonic?" the teacher's annoyed voice suddenly cut through his thoughts, making him whip his head to face the irritated man. The man's brown eyes were giving him a look that showed exasperation as he looked at the student pointedly.

Biting back a witty reply, Sonic answered, "Nothing, Mister Johnson." His voice sure sounded sincere enough, but his body language disagreed with him greatly. His leg continued to bounce up and down against his will; his fingers, when he let go of his arm, began to drum on the table; his eyes continued to dart small, inconspicuous glances towards that teasing circle on the wall.

Mr. Johnson rolled his eyes, but he continued to teach the teenagers, who, for the most part, were disinterested in world history. When he realized that some of the rowdy teenagers began to talk amongst themselves, he looked at them pointedly, making the ground around him tremble with his unique power.

When the teens felt the ground shifting slightly under them, they completely stopped their talking and gave Mr. Johnson their undivided attention, making the elderly man smile a bit.

The bell finally rang, and Sonic instantly shot straight up in his seat and dashed to the door, out in less than a second. Mr. Johnson rolled his eyes once more at his antics, but he knew that it was inevitable. The other teenagers followed more slowly out the door than the speedy fifteen-year-old.

Sonic breathed a sigh of relief once he was out of the boring classroom, knowing that he had ten full minutes before he had to go to his next class. Ten minutes—ten minutes of freedom, and that was enough for him, actually making him grin a bit. Then, he dashed back to his room to get what he needed for his later classes, creating a gust of wind for anyone that he passed by in the halls as he traveled around two hundred miles per hour, which was pretty slow for him, nothing more than a light jog. His speed would, normally, turn heads, but the other children attending the school were used to antics like this.

This was a safe place for people like Sonic. It was a safe home and school for mutants.

Everyone here—the teachers, the students—were all mutants. It was a school that protected mutants of all ages—from as young as six years old to as old as twenty years of age, and even older. They all were safe, surrounded by other mutants like them, under the radar of the government. Mr. Johnson, for example, was able to make the ground rumble a bit, like a small earthquake, when he was annoyed. The "principal" of the school was Professor Wayne, and he had the ability to read minds, and was also able to sense where other mutants were. Using that ability, they were able to find a young, lonely mutant and bring them back to the school, where they would grow under a sheltered, safe environment, where all the other children had the same…problem as them. They would grow up in the building from then on, learning what they needed to with other children like them.

A few children had powers that were hard to control, or hard to conceal. For instance, Sonic had the ability of super speed, able to run faster than the speed of sound without breaking a single sweat. As such, he wasn't always sure what was considered "fast" to others, and would draw attention to his obvious talent. It made trying to live in the normal world hard, where people would shun you simply because you were different.

Sonic reached his room, throwing his heavy books on the table quickly as he turned around instantly to leave. When he turned back around, he saw a familiar figure in the doorway.

"Hi, Sonic!" the young ten-year-old boy said, smiling at his best friend. His large, innocent sky-blue eyes looked at the teenager with undisguised happiness and reverence for his hero. His hair was orange and lightly tousled, his orange bangs nearly covering those large eyes. His face was innocent, almost like a little cherub's face, as he looked at his best friend, who he looked up to like an older brother. He wore light blue jeans and a white T-shirt, and there were small splotches of oil and dirt on his clothes, but he didn't seem to care about that.

Sonic grinned back. "Hey, lil' buddy," he replied, going up to the boy, affectionately ruffling his hair while the boy laughed.

The young boy's real name was Miles Prower, but everyone called him Tails for obvious reasons. His mutation was the two tails that flowed out behind him. The fluffy fox tails were orange, like his hair, and tipped with white fur. He was able to use his twin tails to fly around, rotating them around and around like the blades of a helicopter. The strange animal appendages that were naturally attached to his body, growing out from the small of his back, were a reason as to why he was sometimes teased. He was born with them, but unable to hide them, leading his father—his only living relative, because his mother died in giving birth of him—to be disgusted by his son. He wouldn't let him to go school, and, as such, many of the things Tails learned were self-taught. When other kids saw him, they all ran away from him, looking at him like he was some type of freak that would poison them or make them mutated like him.

But here, at the "Academy for Mutants" ("affectionately" called that by Sonic), Tails fit right in. Some other kids were like him, too—there was a teenaged boy who was a mix between a wolf and human, and a girl who was part bird and had the large bird wings to show for it. Once Tails came to the school, however, he had been so shy that Sonic had instantly taken him under his wing, protecting him like an older brother would.

"Sonic, I wanna show you the new plane that I built," Tails said eagerly, tugging on the fifteen-year-old's hand.

The teenager glanced at the clock, knowing that he had enough time to check out whatever Tails wanted to show him. "Lead the way, Tails," Sonic grinned back, and Tails happily ran, with Sonic along with him, to the small workshop.

Tails was also a genius, a mechanical mind who could easily break something and put it together in record time, making it look extremely simple as well. He was very smart for his young age, already constructing complex inventions, such as a gun that could potentially stop a mutant's powers for a short period of time, or an unbreakable net that would siphon someone's energy, and many things like that. He also enjoyed building planes for different purposes. Professor Wayne realized Tails' talent and allowed him to have a small workshop set aside for him. Some other kids who enjoyed building would sometimes come over, asking Tails for his help, or helping the little fox-tailed boy with his inventions and gadgets if given permission.

When they reached the small shed, Tails proudly gestured to a plane in the center of the room. It was deep blue, a small biplane, with many designs and weapons and other things—Sonic wasn't completely sure what those things were, exactly.

"This is a plane that I constructed for both aerial and aquatic travel," Tails began excitedly, showing off his latest plane. "With the simple push of a button, it can be compatible for both flying and traveling underwater. It also has weapons that can be used both in the air and in the water."

Tails continued to eagerly explain what the things did to his best friend, and Sonic tried to listen. But, in all honesty, sometimes he was completely lost by Tails, who had clicked into his "science mode". Even though he was only eight, Sonic had no doubt that the kid was probably as smart as Einstein, or even smarter. He wasn't trying to show off how smart he was, he sometimes simply lapsed into his mechanical speaking, which mostly went over Sonic's head.

Eventually, though, Sonic glanced up at the clock on the wall, and realized that he had to get ready for his next class, having used up his ten minutes that he had to change between classes. He had geometry next. Simply thinking about that made Sonic groan a bit. He wasn't stupid, but he wasn't exactly the best at math, either. He sighed, knowing that he would have to face the inevitable.

"Tails, I have to head to my next class," Sonic told the fox-tailed boy.

"Oh," Tails said, seeming disappointed.

"Hey, I'll drop by later, all right?" Sonic grinned. Tails looked at him brightly, nodding his head eagerly as he hugged his best friend. When he let go, Sonic flashed him a thumbs-up, and then dashed back into the building. Quickly, he grabbed the necessary things he'd need for his next class, and then he ran down the halls to his geometry class, seeing plenty of other kids still walking down the halls as they headed to their next classes.

Phew, I'm not gonna be late, Sonic thought, relieved. If there was one thing that his geometry teacher, Miss Riley, disliked, it was her students showing up late for her class. He was nearing the room when, suddenly, a dreaded, all-too-familiar voice sounded behind him.

_"__Sonic!"_ came the happy, excited voice of Amy as her arms suddenly came around him from behind, hugging his taller shoulders.

Surprised, Sonic tried to push her off of him, but to no avail. The younger girl stood latched on tightly to him, and he let out an annoyed sound.

"Amy, get _off_ of me," he muttered, turning around, and he eventually managed to pry her hands off from around him. But Amy would not easily be deterred from her goal.

Amy Rose was truly a strange phenomenon, in Sonic's opinion. She absolutely refused to believe that he was completely uninterested in her, always self-proclaiming herself his girlfriend. She was also very threatening, because of her strange power. Even though she didn't always look so intimidating, she could be very, _very_ scary at times.

At a first glance, Amy didn't seem too intimidating. Her short pink hair ended in a small bob, a little ways past her chin, above her shoulders, and curled in slightly at the base of her face. A red headband was behind the pink bangs that came across her forehead and nearly covered her eyes. Her eyes were big and a light green color, almost like the grass on a bright summer's day. She usually opted to wear a red dress, strapless and ending just above her knee, and usually also had large golden bracelets on each of her wrists. However, despite her very girly appearance, she had an extremely fierce temper. This temper brought about her rather odd power—the ability to materialize a gargantuan hammer in her hands and wield it like her personal sword—it was truly a weapon of mass destruction. If she pulled out her hammer, anyone's advice would be one simple word.

_Run._

"Sonic, why are you so _stubborn_?" Amy pouted, looking at Sonic with big eyes that she hoped to use to win him over.

"Amy, I just have to get to class, _right_ _now_," Sonic suddenly said, eyes widening as he looked at the clock in the hallway. In the next instant, he dashed into his classroom, leaving a frustrated Amy behind. Letting out a huff, she rolled her eyes, stomping away in her red boots, wondering why he always had to be so stubborn and always ran away from her.

He's probably just shy, Amy suddenly thought, smiling a bit. Aw, that was so cute! He was simply too shy and bashful to talk around her and admit his true feelings!

With that happy thought, Amy grinned broadly and literally skipped to her next class, finding it so sweet that Sonic found it so nerve-wracking to talk to her. Her look made the other students stare at her like she was from Mars, but they didn't comment. As long as she wasn't angry and hadn't whipped out her Piko-Piko hammer in her fury, then they were all right.

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><p>It was finally time for lunch, and the cafeteria was already crowded when the speedy teenager showed up. His cobalt blue hair, slightly tousled, ended a little bit past his ear, above his shoulder, his naturally scruffy bangs sweeping to the left side of his face. His skin was a peach tone, and his body was muscular and lean from all the running he did. One of the most prominent features about him, though, was his eyes. They were a stunning emerald green that always held a bright sparkle behind them, as if he knew some great secret that you would desperately want to know.<p>

Sonic ran into the cafeteria, getting his lunch and then going over to his table, where one of his friends was already sitting.

"Hey, Red," Sonic greeted with a grin, making the sixteen-year-old that had just been addressed roll his eyes as he looked at Sonic.

"Will you ever stop calling me 'Red'?" Knuckles asked, only half joking. His violet eyes—which always seemed to be serious—were looking at Sonic in slight exasperation. Red dreadlocks framed his face and ended slightly above his shoulders, and his skin was a shade darker than Sonic's own. His extremely muscular frame—only emphasized by the white muscle-shirt that he was currently wearing—added with those piercing eyes, often made him very intimidating. Knuckles' mutant power was that he was extremely strong—one punch from him, and he could easily knock down an entire tree, or break through a solid concrete wall.

Sonic grinned in reply, opting not to answer as he set his tray down, making Knuckles roll his eyes once more.

A few minutes after Sonic arrived at the cafeteria, someone else angrily slammed their tray down as he sat down next to Sonic, grumbling things under his breath, probably cursing. This made Knuckles smirk as he shook his head.

"What's got you so pissed off _now_, Shadow?" Knuckles asked, clearly amused.

This made Shadow glare fiercely at Knuckles. He, too, was very intimidating, sometimes even more intimidating than Knuckles, even though he was fifteen years old like Sonic and had just about the same build as the blue-haired teenager, with lean muscles, not extremely built like Knuckles' own. Shadow's black hair was naturally streaked with dark crimson, and it was naturally tousled as well, bangs going to the right side of his forehead. His skin was naturally tanned, the features of his face hard, and his eyes were a deep, dark ruby red with angular eyes that made him very scary at times, indeed. Shadow's special ability enabled him to harness energy inside of him called Chaos, because it was often at war with him, and create it into something visible. The energy was like pure light, and he could cause a power outage with his power over this Chaos energy.

"What's up, Shad?" Sonic added, turning to his normally taciturn friend.

"What the _hell_ is so _damn_ _important_ about world _history_?" Shadow growled, annoyed. "I got yelled at again by Mister Krupke for not getting every single question he asked me correct!"

"You know that he doesn't like you, Shadow," Sonic offered. "Every teacher has someone they don't like. Sorry it has to be you, buddy."

"I am _not_ your _buddy_," Shadow seethed, glaring at Sonic before turning away from him. Knuckles snickered at the sight, making Shadow glare at him once more before turning away from the idiots in irritation.

"Well," a familiar, silky voice sounded behind the three boys, "_someone's_ in a bad mood today."

Shadow didn't reply, glaring at the person who had remarked before turning away once more.

"Oh, great, why'd _she_ have to show up?" Knuckles muttered, smirking a bit more. He actually laughed a bit when she slapped him on the shoulder.

"Shut up, you jerk," Rouge said with disdain, turning away from Knuckles after she slapped him, crossing her arms. Her white hair and bangs fell around her face and came to a graceful stop slightly past her shoulders, framing her tanned skin. Her full, pink lips were perfectly glossed, and her turquoise eyes fiercely challenged anyone who looked at her the wrong way, framed with black mascara that made her eyelashes look longer and blue eye shadow. She wore black, skin-tight leggings and a pink fitted tube top that dipped low, almost in the shape of a heart, accenting her very prominent cleavage. Rouge was like Tails in the mutant-power department—large, black bat's wings extended from her back, allowing her to fly as well if she wished. Now, they were firmly tucked in at her back.

"Hey, Rouge," Sonic said in greeting. Rouge gave him a charming smile in return, turning to Knuckles.

"See, Sonic is polite to a lady! Why can't _you_ two jerks be as nice as him?" Rouge teased both Knuckles and Shadow. Shadow simply grunted in reply while Knuckles rolled his eyes yet again.

"With the way you act, it's hard to tell if you're a lady or not," Knuckles smirked, knowing that taking jabs at her femininity always pissed her off.

"You _asshole_!" Rouge shot back furiously. "You _know_ that I'm a lady—I catch you looking at my ass and my boobs almost all the time."

Knuckles suddenly blushed fiercely, his cheeks almost as dark as his hair at that comment. Rouge smirked, knowing that the ball was in her court for now.

"You know, you're really cute when you blush like that," Rouge said teasingly, making his cheeks flame even more fiercely as he tried to hide his burning face from her. "And you're _sooooooo_ muscular…" Rouge trailed off, getting closer to him, dropping her eyes just a hint. Knuckles audibly gulped as he looked at the seductive position that she was in, giving him a _very_ nice view of her breasts.

Thankfully, Knuckles was spared from any more mortification on his part by the next person to come to the table.

"Sonic!" came the ecstatic voice of Amy from behind them, and Sonic's features took on a look of pure panic before she latched herself onto him in a hug. Once again, Sonic found himself trying to pry her off of him while she giggled, obviously thinking this was funny.

"Amy, how many times do I have to tell you to get _off_ of me?" Sonic said in annoyance as he continued to try and break her hold on him once more. This became the main scene that the others watched, making Rouge stop flirting with Knuckles teasingly (he let out a loud sigh of relief in response) and actually drew Shadow's attention. He always found it slightly amusing to see Sonic so caught off guard by a thirteen-year-old girl who was madly in love with him.

When Sonic finally managed to get Amy off of him, the latest arrival to their table made her appearance as she gracefully sat down, smiling a bit as she watched the aftermath of the tiny battle between the pink-haired girl and blue-haired teen.

"Hey, Blaze," Rouge said with a grin, turning towards the person who just arrived.

"Hey, Rouge," Blaze returned, taking a seat next to the sixteen-year-old white-haired girl. Her lavender hair was naturally tipped with darker purple at the ends, and her slightly overlong bangs swept to the right side. Her straight hair was down, a far cry from the high ponytail that she often pulled it up into. Her pale skin seemed to be the color of cream, and her eyes were beautifully shaped, like large cat's eyes, and were a vivid golden color, framed with long lashes. A golden necklace rested around her delicate neck, and she wore a purple three-quarter sleeved shirt and white jeans. Her bangs covered the ruby red gem that was naturally inlaid on her forehead. Blaze's own unique power was the ability to wield fire, make it listen to her every command, to create it from nothing. Inside of her being, she had inner flames that she was able to call upon, causing flames to come to her hands, not burning her or hurting her in the least.

"How long did you think it'd take for Sonic to get Amy off _this_ time?" Rouge asked slyly.

Blaze laughed a bit. "Well, I certainly think that it was quicker than last time," she said playfully.

"Jeez, Amy, you have to stop doing that!" Sonic said to Amy in exasperation.

Amy pouted. "But why?" she insisted.

Sonic rolled his eyes in agitation. "Amy, for the last time, I do _not_ like it when I nearly get choked to death."

"Oh, come on, Sonic, I don't do that," she argued.

"Could've fooled me," Sonic mumbled under his breath, and the only ones that heard it were Knuckles and Rouge, the latter thanks to her sensitive hearing due to her being part bat. The red-haired teen actually smirked while Rouge couldn't help the snicker that escaped from her mouth.

"Hey, did anyone see Tails and Cosmo?" Sonic asked, looking around the crowded lunchroom.

"Knowing Tails, he probably got so absorbed in one of his inventions, and Cosmo is probably helping him," Rouge grinned, thinking of the youngest two of their little group of friends.

"Should one of us go and get 'em?" Sonic wondered aloud.

"I'm sure that they'll come," Knuckles said gruffly. Then, he looked up, and his eyes widened as he muttered, "Speak of the devil."

Coming into the lunchroom at that moment were Tails and Cosmo. The young boy with two tails was eagerly having a conversation with the other girl who was about his age. Cosmo had green hair the color of bright leaves, her bangs covering her small forehead and falling around the sides of her face, straight, and ending around her chin. Her skin was extremely pale, a shade darker than that of the moon's surface, and her large eyes were a dark blue color, as dark as the sea before a storm. Two small hairclips shaped like roses pulled some of the hair back from the sides of her face, the flowers a lovely dark pink color. Her dress was summer green at the top and white at the bottom, almost shaped like petals. Around her neck was a thin silver chain, and on that silver chain was a deep magenta gem that reflected the light of the room. Her special power was the ability to control plant life, making flowers grow out of nothing, and also helping other plants grow if they needed help.

When they got their lunches, they went over to where their other friends were seated.

"Hey, guys!" Tails grinned happily.

"What's up, Tails, Cosmo?" Sonic said in greeting with a trademark grin.

"Nothing much," Tails replied with a smile as he began to eat his lunch, sitting next to his best friend. "My new plane's completely finished—Cosmo helped me put the finishing touches on it."

"It was nothing," Cosmo said shyly with a small blush on her pale cheeks, a bashful smile on her face. Cosmo was the most quiet and shy one of the entire group, and also the most gentle and calm as well. She and Tails were the two people who kept the six older teenagers from completely losing their extremely short tempers with one another.

"Oh, don't be so modest, Cosmo," Amy chided with friendliness in her tone.

Cosmo laughed a bit at that, her eyes shining with happiness.

"Hey," Knuckles suddenly said, looking away as he remembered something strange that happened in his chemistry class that day. "I heard that Professor Wayne picked up some weird mutant signals…he said that they weren't like anything that he felt before. He said that they felt…off."

"Off in what way? Did he say how?" Sonic asked, leaning forward with interest. Knuckles was the only out of the whole group who had Professor Wayne for any subject whatsoever, so he was the one who knew the most about what might happen in school.

"He said that they felt…negative, or something. They didn't feel like us…they just felt darker, more sinister, just…just different," Knuckles answered, recalling what Professor Wayne had said. "That's all I remember."

"Could it actually be something to worry about?" Rouge asked quietly, unconsciously lowering her voice like the others had done so that their conversation wasn't picked up by unwanted ears.

"Maybe," Knuckles replied gravely.

"Or maybe the old man is finally losing it," Shadow muttered as he offered his input.

"Must you _always_ be the pessimist?" Blaze asked Shadow with a roll of her eyes.

Before Shadow could snap back a reply, Sonic intervened. "I think that we should all just be on our guard," he offered, trying to make peace. "So that, if these weird mutant signals _are_ bad news, that we won't be surprised by them."

"I agree," Blaze said in agreement.

"It won't hurt to be prepared," Rouge said with a shrug. "Sounds good to me."

"Whatever," Shadow grumbled in an annoyed voice. "If all you idiots believe that story, then I may as well play along."

"It's _not_ a story, it's what I heard," Knuckles shot back. "And, yes, I agree with Sonic."

"But these mutants can't be _too_ terrible," Amy said, ever the optimist in situations like these.

"But Professor W never felt anything like them before. Don't you think that's kind of strange?" Tails asked. "I mean, he always feels everything, and can tell if you're a powerful mutant or not, but not being able to tell? It's strange."

"Why don't we change the topic to something more enjoyable?" Sonic suddenly said, disliking the way that the tone had suddenly gone very serious on their small table.

"I heard that a new kid's coming," Rouge offered. "Teenager, like us. Professor W didn't even need to use his powers of telepathy to find her—she was unable to control her power and going on a rampage."

"What's her mutation?" Blaze asked, interested.

"She has power over ice and snow, I think," Rouge said thoughtfully. "I don't think that she controls water, I think it's just snow and ice. And I think it's just snow and ice because, in Brazil, a section of the Brazilian rainforest keeps on getting frozen. Miss Stonehill told us that during English class."

"Why would she tell you about a new mutant?" Sonic wanted to know.

"She told us because she wants to make sure that we're nice to the newbie," Rouge replied, smirking a bit. "She gave a whole speech about how we're supposed to remember how _we_ felt when we first came, and wants us to give her the same courtesy that was given to us." That last part made her roll her eyes. "The good new is that it took most of the period. The bad news is that I had to listen to her drone on and on and on…ugh, her voice is so _irritating_! And she talks _sooooooo_ much when it's unnecessary. I swear, she must _love_ the sound of her own voice!"

"I think _all_ teachers enjoy the sounds of their own voices," Knuckles smirked, glancing at the teenager with bat wings beside him.

"Must be in their job description," Sonic snickered, making Tails and Cosmo laugh a bit.

"Come on, guys," Tails smiled, "the teachers aren't _that_ bad."

"Then you must have _good_ teachers," Rouge muttered. "I swear, some of my teachers are so crazy and boring that I either want to slap them across the face or sleep in their class!"

Cosmo laughed. "Well, it _is_ true, some of the teachers _are_ a bit odd."

"Agreed," Amy grinned. "I mean, have you _seen_ my math teacher? Mister Woods? He's _so_ weird, and everyone thinks he's gay!"

"_Is_ he gay?" Sonic asked, while Shadow leaned in to listen, actually becoming intrigued with this conversation now, as was everyone else.

"Well, we're not completely sure," Amy admitted, "but we have pretty strong suspicions about it!"

A small laugh went around the table at that. Then, the bell rang, signaling that lunchtime was over. There were audible groans from some of the students, but they all got up from their tables and began to slowly walk out into the hallways.

"See you guys after classes are done?" Sonic asked, addressing everyone once they were outside of the lunchroom.

"I don't know," Tails said, biting his lip. "Cosmo and I were actually going to work on a new device I built…"

"Hey, it's OK, buddy, you don't have to come," Sonic grinned, ruffling Tails' orange hair affectionately once more.

"Of _course_ I'll see you, Sonic!" Amy squealed happily, making Sonic internally roll his eyes.

"Well, I have nothing better to do after classes are over, so I suppose I'll come, too," Shadow said, arms crossed against his black T-shirt, his ruby red eyes closed for the time being.

"I might be able to make it," Knuckles said thoughtfully. "Unless I get called in for _tutoring_." He spat out that last word like it was the vilest thing that he could possibly think of.

"Sorry, boys, but I wont be able to make it," Rouge told them. "I'm going shopping after school for some new clothes with some of the girls—Blaze, you wanna tag along?" she offered as she turned to the lavender-haired teenager.

"No, thanks," Blaze declined politely. In truth, she absolutely _loathed_ shopping, on the extremely rare occasion that she felt that feminine need for new clothes. On normal days, she found shopping to be a tedious, boring task, something that gave her a throbbing headache most of the time.

"Suit yourself," Rouge said with a shrug.

"Will you meet up with us?" Sonic asked.

Blaze thought about it for a moment, and then nodded. "I have nothing else to do today, I may as well come."

"All right," Sonic grinned. "So, we'll meet outside of the school, probably go see a movie or something, hang out. Sound good?"

Everyone agreed.

"OK, you guys, Cosmo and I have to go to class. Bye!" Tails said in his dismissal as he and the green-haired girl walked to their next class.

Shadow didn't even offer any words of goodbye. He just exchanged a curt nod with the others and proceeded to go to his next subject, heading towards the stairs.

Rouge, before she left, winked at Knuckles and blew him a kiss. "See ya around, Knuckie!" she teased playfully, laughing once again at the sudden flush that came on his face before she turned around and headed down the hallway.

While Knuckles stood, stunned, by Rouge's antics, Amy said goodbye to her "boyfriend" by giving him a hug. Before Sonic could pry her off of him once more, she let go of him and said, "See you later, Sonic!" With that, she grinned a dazzling smile at him as she skipped away.

The expression of complete confusion on Sonic's face made Blaze laugh a bit at him, shaking her head, her hand on her hip. "You should see your face, Sonic," she said with a small laugh. Then, she turned around and began to walk to her next class, waving at the blue-haired teenager.

"See you later, Blaze," Sonic grinned before she left.

She smiled in return, nodding at him, going to the next classroom she had to be in.

Knuckles was still dumbstruck by Rouge's playfulness, and, as Sonic turned around and began to go down the hallways, he absentmindedly noted that it had actually been a pretty quiet day for them.

"ROUGE!" Knuckles suddenly shouted. Sonic turned back around to see his face flushed with rage as he clenched his fists, his face also burning with the embarrassment and mortification that Rouge caused him. "GET BACK HERE!"

Rouge's playful laugh was heard as she continued to run to her class, her heels making a loud clicking sound against the floor as she ran away.

Knuckles, angered, began to chase her, not caring about the fact that he was probably going to be late to class because of this slight detour. "GET BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!"

"You know, you're really cute when you get angry," Rouge teased, making Knuckles stop once again in complete embarrassment, making her laugh once again as she gained more ground.

"I swear, you are COMPLETELY IMPOSSIBLE!" Knuckles yelled, regaining control over his body once more as he continued to chase after the white-haired girl who was laughing hysterically from all of this.

"Catch me if ya can, Knuckie! You look _so_ cute when you're flustered!"

"AAAARRRGGHHH!"

Sonic sighed. Well, there went the so-called "quiet" day.

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><p><strong>So? You like, you hate? Please, reviews are always appreciated, people! R&amp;R! If I get enough reviews for this, the 2nd chapter will come up more quickly! So…yeah, I'll stop pestering you now!<strong>

**So please, click that lovely little button at the bottom of your screen and review. I'll give you a cookie! :)**


	2. New Girl

**Thank you for the lovely reviews that I received for the last chapter! And, as promised, this chapter is coming out as quickly as possible! I literally FEED on those reviews! Enjoy this nice, long chapter I typed up for you, loves! :)**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Sonic the Hedgehog. SEGA does. So yeah.**

"Welcome to Professor Wayne's School for the Exceptionally Gifted," Rouge grinned at the new girl who she was showing around the place. "Or, as we 'affectionately' call it, the Academy for Mutants."

It was the same teenager that Miss Stonehill had spoken about, the one that she had told the others about during lunch. Rouge's suspicions had been confirmed once the young woman set her feet in her new home—the air had suddenly gone cold, and small fragments of ice had begun to form on her palms. It left no doubt that her powers were over ice and snow.

At first, the girl had been very distrustful, looking at everyone, but her eyes had widened when she realized that all of the others were just as mutated as her. When she had met her tour guide, she had to stop herself form staring at the bat wings that were proudly resting on the shoulder blades of the pretty white-haired girl as she had gracefully landed right in front of her, introducing herself as Rouge, saying that she was assigned to show her around the school, her new home.

The new teenager had introduced herself as Khione, and, even by looking at her, you could tell that she was not completely normal, just like if you looked at most of the mutants at the Academy. Khione was sixteen years old, like Rouge, and had this wariness about her that made you believe that she had been in many fights and knew how to survive on her own. She, too, had white hair, but it was a pure white, like the color of a full moon, or the color of a swan's pure white, lovely feathers. Her long, flowing, straight hair fell down her back, ending at her waist. That white hair was streaked naturally with silver, as that pure, precious metal had been weaved within her locks, spun by expert hands, shining beautifully. Her hair was parted to the right, nearly covering her right eye, but not quite. Both of her eyes were able to look at you, seeming to gaze deep within your soul, sometimes chilling you to the bone, in reality with her power. Her eyes were an icy blue that sparkled in the light like the fragments of ice that they represented, large, framed with long lashes that always seemed to have snowflakes caught in them, because, when she blinked, the sunlight glinted off of those dark lashes. Pale skin, the color of light cream, accented the features on her face that were delicate and graceful and yet also dangerous at the same time. She was wearing a periwinkle blue shirt with a white sweater over that, and gray kapris. In her hands was the suitcase that she packed with her precious belongings she would want to keep, having been told that she was going to be supplied with clothing at the school.

Khione had always wondered why she was always so different from the kids in her original home, in Brazil. While they sometimes complained about the hot weather, she had never truly felt that warm, always feeling internally, blissfully cool, and while they were all tanned by the sun, she remained pale. Whenever someone made contact with her hand, they suddenly drew back, looking at it with wide eyes. When she had asked what was wrong, they had usually told her that her hand was stone cold, almost as if she was dead, and, when those comments had become more frequent, they had greatly unnerved her. Her first kiss had ended terribly as well—he had instantly drawn back as if he had been touched by acid, looking at her with confusion. He said that it had felt as if he was kissing marble.

Eventually, the mutation had hit full force. When she became angry, a blizzard would start, making it snow in July, literally. Of course, no one had linked _her_ as the source, just saying that it was a freak of nature, but she had figured out soon enough. That was when her foster parents—who had been rich people, famous, simply adopting a sad, poor orphan for the sake of their publicity—had thrown her out, after being startled by another burst of anger from her, when she had accidentally made ice actually form on the floor of the house. They had cast her out, calling her a witch, and she had been completely alone.

She had lived alone for a while, sometimes simply going to the many numerous rainforests that were adjacent to her home, and letting out her anger, grief, and fury at the unfairness of everything there. However, sometimes, people found residue of her work—a small patch of ice there, a few snowflakes sticking to a rock, and so on. Eventually, a man who she had never seen before was walking around the rainforest, with a slightly wrinkled face that had knowledge etched into those not-so-noticeable lines, gray hair from age, and wise gray eyes that shone with compassion.

That man had introduced himself as John Wayne, and had told her that she was a mutant. At first, she thought that the old man was simply going crazy after finally crossing over the line of insanity, but he had assured her that he was not joking, and, to prove it, he said that he was going to show her that she was not the only one with powers like her own. Suspicious, she had demanded to be taken to this place, and, somehow, John Wayne had known that her 'parents' wouldn't be looking for her, asking her to simply bring some of her belonging with her that she would need, because it would be her new home. Slightly surprised, when she asked if he had powers, he had nonchalantly replied that he had the ability to read minds. She had scoffed with disbelief and thought of a few rude comments about him, to which he replied to as simply as if she had spoken them.

Slightly convinced, she had followed him into the plane, and she had fallen asleep. When she woke up, she was, instead, in a car, and the car had just made a stop. She looked out of the window to see a large, impossibly big building in front of her, and the driver had said that this was her stop. She thanked the driver, who replied that it was no trouble in a raspy voice—she thought he had a cold—and cautiously opened the door, grabbing her belongings. That was when she had been greeted by Rouge.

Before they had entered the premises of the school, Rouge had given her a rundown of what her mutation was, assuring her that everyone else here was just as mutated as Khione was.

"But don't _ever_ signal out anyone because of their mutation," Rouge had cautioned her. "The reason that we're all here is because we all have the same predicament—being rejected by society simply because we're different. This is the only place that we can really be ourselves, you know? So, no matter how weird their power is, don't draw them out into the open."

Khione had not believed that anyone else could be as mutated as her, so she had played along. Now, her eyes were wide as she saw some of the other students—some who had a free period, others who had lunch, and yet others who did not attend their classes as long as others—outside, either talking or playing games with each other, and she could tell they were mutated. There was a young boy with two orange fox tails coming out from behind him, speaking eagerly to a green-haired girl about his age. Three other children were playing tag, slightly older than the fox-tailed boy and the other girl. One of them was a girl who was able to run right through objects, shown from her ability to simply seem to disappear through the trees around the place as she was getting pursued. Another was a boy who had sharp canines and was seemed like silver/gray fur on his shins and forearms, and the way that he ran was like an animal, a wolf, Khione suspected. The one who was chasing the two was another boy who had red skin with strange white engravings upon it, like tattoos, and had small horns on his head.

"This…this is real?" Khione whispered, as if it was too good to be true.

Rouge turned around with a smile as she faced the disbelieving girl, whose ice blue eyes were wide with amazement. "Yep. It's real, and it's our home. You'll probably meet some of the others by the end of the day. Come on." With that, Khione followed Rouge inside of the large building.

There were even more students inside the building, walking amiably with each other, speaking to each other, sometimes laughing. Khione looked at all of this with fascination.

Suddenly, a sharp breeze sped by both Khione and Rouge, and Khione saw the faintest streak of blue in that gust.

"SONIC!" Rouge shouted, placing her hands on her hips as she turned around to face where the breeze went. To Khione's shock, the gust abruptly stopped, and, in its place, was a slightly sheepish-looking fifteen-year-old boy with cobalt blue hair and emerald green eyes.

"Watch where you're going!" Rouge yelled at him, her turquoise eyes narrowing dangerously. "You nearly ran us over!"

"Heheh, sorry!" the boy who Rouge had called Sonic replied with a sheepish laugh.

Then, another voice, a feminine one, squealed, _"__SONIC!__"_

The blue-haired teenager's emerald green eyes widened, and the only thing that could describe the emotion on his face was one of pure terror. Abruptly, he turned around and began to dash even faster, running out the door in a nearly incomprehensible blue blur.

Rouge turned around, and Khione followed her guide's line of sight to see that a pink-haired girl was running towards them, panting slightly. When she reached the two white-haired girls, she stopped, catching her breath.

"Ugh!" the younger girl complained, running her hands through her pink hair. "Why must he be so _stubborn_?" Then, she noticed the new girl, standing next to Rouge, and raised an eyebrow at the girl with bat wings.

"This is Khione," Rouge said in introduction. "She's a new student here, the one I said Miss Stonehill was talking about."

The pink-haired, green-eyes girl smiled brightly at Khione, sticking out her hand to shake. "Hi!" she greeted enthusiastically. "My name's Amy Rose! Please to meet you!"

"Uh…pleased to met you, too," Khione replied, a bit startled by the sudden familiarity that Amy exhibited towards her.

Then, Amy quickly turned to Rouge. "Rouge, did you see where Sonic went? I lost him…"

Rouge smirked. "He ran outside."

"Thanks, Rouge!" Amy said happily, before running towards the direction of the big doors that allowed them to go in and out of the building. "SONIC!" she continued to call at the top of her lungs.

Rouge turned to Khione, laughing at the look of utter shock and confusion on the new girl's face. "You get used to it. We've got a _lot_ of weird people here."

"What…exactly…_was_ that?" Khione asked, raising an eyebrow, still shocked and confused.

"Amy's absolutely in love with Sonic," Rouge explained, "but he isn't interested in her. But you try and tell Amy that, and she'll either completely ignore you, or she'll materialize her Piko-Piko hammer. If she does that, I swear, run as if you freaking life _depends_ on it, which it will if you get her pissed off."

"And this hammer…" Khione trailed off, unable to finish her sentence, shaking her head, closing her eyes as the sudden events of the past minute rattled in her brain.

"That's Amy's power—to materialize a goddamn _hammer_ if she gets pissed," Rouge replied. "But she can _use_ that thing, trust me. Do _not_ get on her bad side."

"I'll keep that in mind," Khione said, sighing. Things were getting stranger by the second.

"Come on, I'll show you to your room," Rouge offered, ascending the stairs while Khione trailed behind her. As they traveled, Rouge pointed out important rooms and places to her, such as the cafeteria, the bathroom, and so on. On their way to Khione's room, they bumped into a slightly irritable-looking teenager, with red hair in dreadlocks and piercing violet eyes, who was muttering things under his breath. Seeing this, Rouge smirked.

"Hey, Knuckie," she teased him, making him roll his eyes.

"My. Name. Is. Knuckles," he replied, as if speaking to a two-year-old. "I wonder if that simple statement will be able to make it through your brain." He said the last part with a smirk, crossing his arms.

Rouge let out an irritated 'hmph', turning her nose up in the air as she turned away from him. "I'm smarter than you, dumbass, so you have _no_ right to say that."

"Bitch," Knuckles muttered.

"Jackass," Rouge shot right back.

"Harlot."

"Dickhead."

"Bimbo."

"Son of a bitch."

"Airhead."

"Bastard."

Knuckles let out an annoyed sound as he pushed himself off of the wall, storming away as he muttered curses under his breath. Rouge wore a smug look on her face after another win of their verbal battles. Even though they both knew that they could've continued to insult one another, he was the one who wasn't able to shoot back an insult as quickly as before, silently making him the loser.

"Um…" Khione looked uncomfortable as having been caught in the middle of a confrontation like that.

"That was Knuckles," Rouge said, pointing to the retreating, muscular figure of the red-haired boy. "Don't take it as an offense if it always seems that he has a stick up his ass. That's just the way he is. And don't worry about that. I just love teasing the hell out of him," she finished with a cheeky smirk.

"Interesting." Khione was seriously debating if she was going to be sent to an asylum in less than a month from all this exposure to insanity.

As they continued to walk, once again, they were interrupted by the noises of two people fighting, one voice a gravelly one and the other an annoyingly high-pitched voice. Rouge rolled her eyes, already knowing what they were going to come across when they turned.

Sure enough, there were three other kids in the hallway, two of them arguing while the third one simply looked at them from the side. The tallest one was an eighteen-year-old, with green scales covering some of his body, and light green hair. His light brown eyes were annoyed, and he wore a multitude of gold chains around his neck, and headphones rested around the back of his neck. He was arguing with someone much shorter than him. It was a little boy who could be no older than nine years old, who also had dark purple eyes that were nowhere near as intimidating as Knuckles' own eyes had been. He had black hair, light skin, and wore a black-and-orange striped shirt. Sticking out through two holes in the back of his shirt were small wings that resembled a bee's, and the attributes that showed that he resembled a bee were amplified by the small black antennae coming out from slightly above his forehead, a little bit behind his hairline. The third one in the group was the one who was simply watching the other two immaturely fight, his arms crossed as he leaned against the wall. His dark purple hair contrasted greatly with his yellow-orange eyes. His naturally tanned skin made him seem slightly intimidating, as well as the angle of his eyes.

"Wait here," Rouge instructed Khione, seeing the small crowd that had begun to form with the fight between the eldest and youngest members of the group. Kids were making bets on who would lose this time, exchanging money as they watched the show.

"How long have they been at it, Espio?" Rouge asked, turning to the seventeen-year-old who was leaning against the wall.

The purple-haired boy that Rouge called Espio rolled his yellow eyes once more. "I'd say a good half-hour, at least," he muttered. Then, suddenly, to Khione's utter shock, he began to fade away into the wall's background, his body fading until there was the barely discernible hint of his outline on the wall. If Khione hadn't been deliberately looking so closely at the wall, she wouldn't've noticed anything there.

"All right, boys, break it up," Rouge announced, going in between the two quarreling and immature males.

"Rouge!" the green-haired boy said, annoyance lacing his tone. "Don't interrupt a very important fight between me and Charmy! I was just about to win!"

"Yeah, _right_!" the little boy shot back, who Khione suspected was Charmy. "I was _so_ gonna win, Vector!"

"I swear, you both act like you're four," Rouge muttered, rolling her eyes in irritation. "Unless you want me to hurt you guys, you are going to _control_ yourselves _right_ now."

"But, Rouge," Charmy began, but Rouge cut him off.

"NO!" Rouge snapped. "You guys are _such_ idiots! Why is it always _you_ two that are fighting?"

"Because _he_ is the most annoying brat in the world!" Vector answered.

"And _he_ is the most pompous, self-absorbed—"

"IT WAS A _RHETORICAL_ QUESTION!" Rouge snapped once again in irritation, making the two suddenly begin to fear her. When they didn't seem like they were going to fight any more, Rouge called over to the direction of the wall that the other boy had disappeared into, "Espio, you can turn visible again!"

With that, Espio became visible once more, fading back into visibility as he walked over to Vector and Charmy. When Rouge backed off, Espio knocked them both on the back of their heads, rolling his eyes.

"Acting like such immature children," he mumbled. Some of the kids groaned when they realized that there was no more fight, but they eventually began to disperse from where they had slightly begun to come together.

Rouge went back to Khione, who was seriously debating her own mental stability as she watched the entire confrontation. "Come on, we shouldn't run into any more interruptions on the way," Rouge said, nodding her head down the hallway. Khione had nothing to say, simply following Rouge. "By the way, you don't mind sharing rooms, right?"

"No, not really," Khione replied.

"Good," Rouge nodded. "Usually, we have a roommate. My roommate's Blaze, who you'll probably meet later on. You're roommate's Raiyne, I think. She's pretty cool, so you have nothing to worry about."

Khione nodded, deciding to take Rouge for her word as they continued. Finally, they reached her room, and Rouge knocked on the closed door.

"_What?__"_ a voice from the other side replied, who seemed slightly annoyed in tone.

"Raiyne, it's me!" Rouge said. "Open the door, your new roommate's here!"

"Oh!" A few seconds after that surprised remark, the door opened, revealing who Khione could only guess was Raiyne.

She was about the same age as Khione, fifteen years old, but what was where the similarities between their appearances abruptly ended. Raiyne's hair was the darkest black and beautifully shiny, like a perfectly polished obsidian stone, or like onyx. It was thick, ending a little bit past her shoulder blades, with long bangs that swept to the right side of her face, trying to cover her right eye but not completely concealing it from view. Her hair, black as the darkest night, as the most beautiful, shiny onyx stone, was streaked naturally with a color the mix of dark, royal blue and a deep teal color. Her skin was naturally lightly tanned, as if it was coffee with quite a bit of milk in it. She wore dark blue skinny jeans and a sea-green sleeveless shirt, a thick silver belt going around her small waist, under her breasts. Her face had delicate features that were sharp but seemed to have a grace to them, flowing into one another easily, with a small, pert nose, full, pink lips, and large eyes, which were actually mismatched in color. Her left eye was just as dark as her hair, as if they were deep pools of darkness, and it shone as if a single star was caught in those depths. However, her right eye was a completely different story.

Khione found herself wondering what could've happened to Raiyne when she saw the girl's right eye. Instead of being black like her left one, it was colored a deep sea green color, with the smallest hint of darker sea-green around the large pupil. The dark flecks of that same darker sea-green were scattered about the lighter shade of the majority of the iris. But that was not the only thing that signaled out her right eye. Going down, across her eye, was a terrible dark red scar, the color of scarlet blood. It began a little ways above her perfectly shaped eyebrow, slanting down in a slight angle towards the right, and ended right at her cheekbone.

Khione, remembering what Rouge had said, quickly averted her own eyes from Raiyne's strange right eye.

Raiyne was wearing a small smile on her face as she looked at Rouge, and at the other white-haired girl beside her. "So, you're my new roommate?" she asked as she looked at the unfamiliar face.

"I guess…" Khione trailed off, looking away, embarrassed that she had so rudely stared at Raiyne's imperfection.

"Nice to meet you," Raiyne said politely, sticking out her hand to shake, inconspicuously moving her head so that her hair covered her right eye much more now, so that the strange color of it was completely hidden from view, and only the smallest hint of a red scar was visible. "My name's Raiyne."

"I'm Khione," Khione introduced herself shyly. "It's nice to meet you, too."

"Would you mind getting her settled, and showing her where her classes are?" Rouge asked Raiyne. "I showed her all the main things she needs to know—where the cafeteria and bathrooms are, and Professor W's office, and other ways to get outside."

"Sure thing," Raiyne replied, smiling. Rouge grinned back at her, and the two girls hugged briefly before Rouge let go. "OK, I have to go now." She turned to Khione. "Trust me, this place'll seem like home to you in no time!" With a wink thrown back at the two slightly younger girls, Rouge left the room as she went to her class.

"So, you can put your stuff over there," Raiyne offered after she closed the door to give Khione privacy to place her things away. Khione turned to see where Raiyne was moving her hand, and saw a nice, quaint little bed, untouched, on the right side of the room. On the left side, she noticed that there was another bed, with slightly rumpled covers, which made her believe that the left side was Raiyne's.

"Thanks," Khione answered, going over to the mattress, which was surprisingly soft, as she placed her bag on the sheets.

"So, what's the reason that you're a mutant?" Raiyne asked, sitting down on her own bed. "I'm guessing you have a power over something, because I don't notice any animal traits about you."

Khione smiled a bit, moving her bag down to the floor as she proceeded to pull out some of her belongings. "You're right," she answered, feeling slightly at ease that she wasn't being treated with suspicion. "I have power over snow and ice."

"That's cool," Raiyne smile, and Khione had to only look at her face to see that she was being sincere about it. She felt even more put at ease that she wasn't rooming with a phony, or a snob.

"What about you?" Khione asked with curiosity.

"I have power over darkness," Raiyne answered with slight hesitance. At Khione's slightly confused look, Raiyne let out a small sigh and decided to elaborate on that fact by doing a demonstration. "Watch," she gently ordered, and Khione listened as Raiyne opened her palm.

A few seconds later, small wisps of darkness formed in her palm, condensing into a small cloud. Khione watched, fascinated, as the wispy tendrils of shadow began to form a shapes—a bear, a wolf, a heart, a swan, a dragon, a house—and all of them seemed slightly mystical, as if they were there, but not completely. It was fascinating as Khione watched with interest.

Soon, the darkness disappeared, and Raiyne was looking at Khione with a small, peaceful look on her face, but it was tainted with pain. Khione knew better than to ask why she looked that way.. "In darkness, I also gain more power," Raiyne explained. "I can move completely unnoticed in the darkness or in shadows—it's not invisibility, it's more like you're unable to notice me because of the way the darkness is wrapping around me…it's a bit hard to explain."

Khione smiled, nodding. "Don't worry, I think I get it," she said, making Raiyne grin brightly at her.

"You know," Raiyne grinned, "I think that we're going to be great friends."

Khione laughed. "Yeah, I think so, too."

/

"What'd you guys do yesterday?" Rouge asked. She and Blaze were in their shared room, because classes were over, and both of them had simply been in the mood for some girl talk—not very surprising on Rouge's part, but _extremely_ surprising for Blaze.

"We just went to a movie," Blaze answered. "It wasn't anything big, but Amy was always trying to cuddle with Sonic, as always."

Rouge laughed a bit. "I can imagine," she snickered. "Did you guys get kicked out because of it?"

"Luckily, no," Blaze replied with her own small smile. "Nearly, though."

Even though they were mutants, some of them were actually able to go outside without completely arousing suspicion. Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles, and Blaze, and Amy didn't have physical traits that completely gave them away, and Rouge was able to hide her wings if she tucked them in and wore a jacket. Some of the other kids didn't even _look_ mutated, so it was simple for them to blend in, but it was only for a few hours at a time. It wouldn't be long until something made them show their power, and that _never_ led to something good.

"The new girl that I was telling you guys about came today," Rouge said.

"Really?" Blaze asked with interest. "What was she like?"

"Her name's Khione," Rouge replied. "She has white hair like me, but it goes all the way down to her waist, and blue eyes. You can tell when she's nervous, though, because the temperature in the air literally drops and ice starts to form around her feet and in her hands."

"How'd she react to everything here?" Blaze continued with a knowing look on her face.

"Well, everything _started_ out fine," Rouge began. "Tails and Cosmo were outside talking, and Zoe, Daniel, and Lucas were playing tag. Everyone else was either inside or going out into the world beyond the premises of the school. When we got inside, though, Sonic damn near ran us over with his speed, and Amy followed soon after with her obsession over him." Blaze laughed a bit at this part, making Rouge smirk before she continued to recount the events of the day. "Then, we ran into Knuckie, and we both had a good ol' verbal spar—I won." Her voice was smug at that point, and then she went on. "Then, we ran into Vector and Charmy having a fight, after Espio gave up on trying to control them because they wouldn't listen to him." Rouge rolled her eyes as she remembered. "But we finally got to her room, and she's roommates with Raiyne."

"That's good," Blaze said quietly. "Raiyne's a good person. She'll make sure Khione feels all right."

Rouge nodded. "I agree with you, sister."

Blaze looked a bit uneasy as she asked, "Did Khione see…" She turned away from the white-haired girl.

"Yeah, I think she did," Rouge answered, understanding why Blaze was slightly worried and uneasy. "But she didn't keep on staring at her eye."

Blaze nodded a little bit. "You think that they're getting along?" she wondered, turning towards Rouge once more.

Rouge grinned. "Yep. Last time I saw them, they seemed to be on pretty good terms, and they just met! I think that they're going to be fine."

"Good," Blaze smiled, glad that the new girl was going to be accepted.

"Hey, you wanna go see if the boys are free? I've got nothing to do today, so I can go with you guys if you wanna go out again today," Rouge said, standing up from her bed.

"Sure," Blaze answered, getting up from her bed as well. She and Rouge left their room, going down the halls together as they absently talked about other things that were unimportant, before a dreaded voice suddenly called, "Hey, Rouge, hey, Blaze!"

Rouge groaned while Blaze let out an animalistic growl. They both turned around, seeing the familiar sight of Jason suddenly coming towards them. Jason was one of the most infamous people in the school—at least, among the girls. Among the guys, he was considered one of the bravest. Jason was a seventeen-year-old who had dark blue hair that seemed to have a mind of its own and light brown eyes—he didn't really look like a mutant, but he was. His power was the ability to siphon electricity from anything—a light, a computer, anything that ran on a battery or electricity—and use it to form pure blue energy that wasn't very strong but could temporarily shock someone for a few moments. It wasn't the most convenient power, but it was still a mutation.

That was not the reason why he was so infamous among many of the students, however. No, the reason was about something _completely_different.

Jason managed to catch up to them, wearing a smirk on his face as he brushed back some of his hair. "Where ya goin', ladies?"

"It's none of your business, Jason," Rouge answered scathingly as she glared at him, watching him carefully like a hawk.

"Aw, come on, Rouge, don't be like that," Jason said with a leering grin, his eyes lingering a bit too long on Rouge's prominent bust. His eyes slowly went over to Blaze as they raked her body up and down, lingering in that same spot a bit too long, making her glare at him once more with fierce golden eyes.

"Watch it, you little bastard," Rouge said threateningly, while Blaze silently glared a hole through Jason's skin.

"What's with all the hostility?" Jason asked, going the slightest bit closer to the two as they both instinctively stepped back, infuriated looks on their faces.

"Try _anything_, and you will _regret_ it. _Dearly_," Blaze threatened, her golden gaze intimidating as the smallest wisps of smoke came from her fingertips, her flames itching to make their appearance on her completely.

"What makes you think that I'm gonna try anything?" Jason snickered, that leering grin still plastered on his face as his light brown eyes hungrily took in the pretty sights of Rouge and Blaze's figures.

"Jason, back off," Rouge venomously said, her turquoise eyes glaring hard. If looks could kill, Jason would be very, very dead from the intensity of the glares coming from Rouge and Blaze.

"Aw, come on, why can't I take a little peek?" Jason had the audacity to ask with a smirk. "I mean, you both have such cute butts—"

He never saw the punch or the kick coming. Suddenly, he was thrown back into the wall with such force from a searing hot punch to his face and fierce knee in the unmentionables, creating a small crater in the plaster. He fell to the floor limply, gasping as he clutched the family jewels, doubling over in pain.

Rouge looked appreciatively at Blaze, who was still glaring at Jason, her fist still ignited with a few small flames. She stepped back, simply watching as the pervert writhed on the floor from the pain of being gelded by the fiery teenager.

"Direct knee to the balls," Rouge said, smirking at Blaze. "He probably will never be able to have children."

"I hope not," Blaze said disdainfully as she sniffed at Jason, who was still gasping for breath, his hand going to his crotch as he tried to somehow ease the pain.

"Let's leave this son of a bitch," Rouge offered, turning around to see Jason weakly lifting his head up. Rouge, in reply, flipped him the finger, before she stalked off with Blaze.

A small crowd had gathered to watch the display, with some of the guys laughing while some of the other guys were wincing sympathetically for Jason. The girls were all huffing in irritation at Jason, but they were glad that Blaze had stood up for them and retaliated the way she had done.

Khione and Raiyne had been walking down that hallway and had seen the whole exchange occur. Khione's eyes were wide, and Raiyne was nodding with approval when Blaze kneed Jason solidly in the balls.

"What was _that_ about?" Khione asked, because she hadn't heard the conversation. However, all the other girls had understood it, knowing how Jason looked when he was attempting to either get a feel or take a peek.

"That little asshole is Jason," Raiyne told Khione. "He's the biggest pervert in the school—so, if he smooth talks you and seems all charming, don't believe him for one millisecond. All he's trying to do is grope you or check out your boobs and butt."

Khione's face wrinkled with disgust. "How do you _live_ with someone like that?"

Raiyne shrugged. "We girls make sure that he leaves us alone—for a period of time, at least," she replied. "Blaze took care of that."

"Rouge mentioned someone named Blaze," Khione said thoughtfully.

Raiyne nodded. "Yeah. You saw that girl with the lavender hair? That was Blaze. She has power over fire, and she's kinda quiet. However, she has a hell of a temper if you piss her off. But she's a great friend—slightly reserved, but a good person."

Khione nodded. Raiyne had stood by her side the whole day, telling the new girl about the important things that she would need to know—which teachers were extremely strict, and you had to stay silent through their classes; which teachers were pretty cool; the people who they came across. Raiyne explained most of the people's powers and personalities—she had told Khione that she had seen Tails and Cosmo in the front, along with Daniel, Lucas, and Zoe, and had also explained their powers or mutations. She had also went in depth with the character of Knuckles, and also the characters of Vector, Espio, and Charmy. She also explained anyone that they passed in the hallways, making Khione feel a bit better that she at least was learning _some_ of the kids' names.

Sensing that Khione was the slightest bit overwhelmed with the sensory overload, Raiyne smiled reassuringly. "Don't worry, there isn't a popularity scale here," she said comfortingly. "We're all normal—well, as normal as mutants can get. But still, all the kids here are good kids, even though some of them don't seem like it."

Khione nodded once more, before she looked towards the door. Her eyes widened when someone entered.

"Whoa," she breathed, momentarily stunned for a few moments. "Who's _that_?" she asked Raiyne.

Turning around, Raiyne saw who Khione was mentioning, and she suddenly grinned brightly. "_That_," she told Khione, "is my older brother."

"Really?" Khione asked, still completely caught off guard by who had entered the room. He was a boy of seventeen years of age, and who stood out like no other boy in the school had to the new girl. His skin was tanned, a bronze color from exposure to sun, and his thick, tousled hair was black, as dark as the darkest night in winter. His hair was naturally streaked with shining silver, lightly, though, unlike Raiyne's black hair, which was streaked with teal. Messy bangs were parted to the left side of his face, revealing two matching eyes that were a dark blue color, the color of the deepest sea at nighttime. The lines of his face were graceful and hard at the same time, and it was the most handsome face that Khione had ever seen. He had lean muscles, accented by the black tank top that he wore, leaving his muscular arms bare—it wasn't as if he was solely based on weightlifting, but it was as if he was built for both speed _and_ strength.

Khione had never seen anyone like him before in her life, and she simply stood there, staring at him like an idiot.

"His name's Adrian," Raiyne told Khione proudly. "His power is different from mine, though—he's…well, he's able to control poison and wind," Raiyne admitted with slight reluctance, unsure about how Khione was going to take it. Some people instantly cringed when they heard about Adrian's power.

Once again, Khione nodded—she realized that she had been doing an awful lot of that in the past few hours. Adrian caught sight of them, a smile lighting his features as he saw his younger sister as he began to walk over to them.

"Hey, little sis," he greeted Raiyne playfully, hugging her.

Raiyne laughed. "I'm not so little anymore," she teased, flicking his nose playfully.

Adrian cracked a grin. Then, he looked behind Raiyne, seeing Khione.

"Adrian, this is Khione, and she's new here," Raiyne said in introduction. "Khione, this is Adrian—but I just told you about him," Raiyne added with a roll of her own eyes as she realized the stupidity of what she said.

Adrian smiled a warm smile that made Khione's heart flutter inside of her chest. He looked even more handsome when he smiled like that. She quickly shook those helplessly-in-love schoolgirl thoughts out of her head, making eye contact with Adrian, who had extended his hand.

"Well, it's nice to meet you, Khione," Adrian told her sincerely.

"It's nice to meet you, too, Adrian," she replied, taking pride in the fact that her voice didn't break at the end the way she thought it would've done. She accepted his handshake, smiling.

Things didn't seem so bad here, after all.

/

Letting out an aggravated sigh, Sonic tapped his foot impatiently as he stood outside of the door, his arms crossed as he rolled his eyes.

"How long does it take for you guys to get ready?" he asked in irritation.

"We're almost done!" Rouge called back.

Knuckles, who was waiting outside with Sonic, rolled his violet eyes as well. "When they say that, it means that we have to wait another half hour," he muttered.

"I _heard_ that, you jerk!" Rouge replied, annoyance clearly lacing her tone.

"Well, it's _true_!" Knuckles shot back.

"Ugh, you are the most _irritable_ son of a bitch I've ever met," Rouge mumbled on the other side of the door. She looked in the mirror, making sure that mascara was fine, reapplying a bit of her thin layer of blue eye shadow with a careful hand.

Blaze was simply sitting on her bed, waiting for Rouge to be finished. As she waited, she read a book for her English class which was about Greek mythology.

Rouge turned, raising her eyebrow as she looked at her friend. "You're actually interested in that book?" she asked.

"Yeah," Blaze answered, a bit sheepishly. "But Greek mythology is actually pretty interesting—but also disgusting and perverted, too," she admitted with a roll of her eyes before she continued to read the story.

"Ugh, test tomorrow in English," Rouge grumbled irritably, now making sure that her lip gloss was enough. She pulled it out, carefully applying it to her lips.

"WILL YOU HURRY UP?" Knuckles shouted through the door.

"SHUT UP!" Rouge snapped back. "Be patient for _once_ in your freaking _life_, asshole!"

"Will _both_ of you cease this incessant bickering?" Shadow muttered, irritated at the amount of immaturity that was being displayed between the two sixteen-year-olds.

"Shadow, were you ever part of this conversation?" Rouge asked, pausing from her task of making sure her makeup was finished to roll her eyes.

"I am _now_," Shadow shot back, crossing his arms in a manner that was normal of him to do.

Rouge ignored his comment, turning to Blaze once more. "You have Miss Stonehill, too, just at a different period than me, right?" she asked. "And you guys have a test tomorrow, too?"

Blaze nodded in reply, looking up from the book as she marked the page with her finger.

"You know what the test is on?" Rouge asked.

Before Blaze could reply, the irritated voice of Knuckles muttered, "Damn it, will you two _stop_ talking bullshit and _hurry_ up?"

"Fine, FINE!" Rouge growled, slapping down her mascara on the table. Seeing that Rouge was done, Blaze placed the book on her bed, before she got up and followed Rouge out of their room.

"_Finally,__"_ Knuckles said with a roll of his eyes. "We thought it's take you, oh, maybe another damn HOUR or so."

"You are _such_ an ass," Rouge shot back, annoyed. At the familiar banter between the two, Sonic cracked a smirk as Rouge closed the door behind Blaze, who had just come out.

"So, where do you guys wanna go?" Sonic asked, looking at the other four in the group. Once again, Tails and Cosmo were occupied with other things—another contraption of his—and Amy had to stay for tutoring in social studies because her grades were low, and the teacher was getting "worried."

"That new amusement part that opened up not too far from here," Knuckles suggested. "I heard that it's supposed to have really great rides…but we should know that everything's _totally_ overrated."

"Sounds like a plan," Sonic grinned, checking the time. It was only four in the afternoon—there would be plenty of time to go on the rides to see if they were worth anything, because curfew wasn't until midnight. Yes, they had curfew, but it was only so that all of them were safe.

Rouge adjusted her sleeveless jean jacket, making sure that her wings were covered by it quickly. She looked at Blaze for affirmation that it seemed like she didn't have two bat's wings sticking out from her back, and Blaze nodded in return.

All of them ready to go, they left the building, heading to the amusement park.

When they finally arrived, they all stood in a small group, not particularly wanting to lose anyone here. The amusement park was large, and it would be very easy to get lost if they split up too far. There were a few rides that actually appealed to the teens—a few roller coasters that were supposed to be nerve-wracking. As they waited on the line for the supposedly "scariest" roller coaster in the park—which was about a two hour wait—many things happened that nearly exposed their powers in their anger.

The first was the audacity of a group of teenage boys, who appreciated the view that was given to them by Rouge from her tight-fitting pink tube top that was low, giving a bit of cleavage, and the mid-thigh shorts that innocently hugged her bottom. They had also appreciated Blaze's attire as well, her figure outlined by the slightly snug red short-sleeved blouse and longer than mid-thigh denim shorts. Blaze had nearly lost it, and it took Sonic, Rouge, and Knuckles to restrain her and to keep her from gelding them like she had done ruthlessly to Jason.

The next instance that nearly led to a blowup was when some others poked fun at Shadow, calling him a weirdo since he wouldn't talk. His extremely short temper flared as he snarled at them like an animal, making them slightly nervous. When one of the teenagers muttered that Shadow had serious anger issues, Shadow had also nearly lost it, and had to be restrained by all four of the other mutants before he ripped the boy's head from his shoulders.

Next, someone made the mistake of insulting Knuckles inadvertently, asking who that idiot with the dreads was. Knuckles had threatened to punch his face in and the boy had challenged him to do so. Knuckles would've done it, too, if it weren't for Sonic and Blaze, who held him back.

After that, things went pretty smoothly, as they all went on the ride. To their amazement, it was actually _fun_—they had expected it to be an overrated piece of bullshit, but it was actually a great ride.

Then, after all that excitement, they went back to their home, the school. They parted ways, each of them going down the halls to their bedrooms, the girls on one side of the building and the boys on the other. The boys, like true males, all fell asleep without a word, but the girls were a different story.

"Hey, Rouge?" Blaze asked, while she combed her hair, still wet from her recent shower.

"Yeah?" Rouge replied, playing with her silky tresses as she sat on her bed, one leg dangling over the edge while the other was tucked under her thigh.

"Did you get a weird feeling today?" Blaze said slowly, the speed of her combing decreasing as she looked at her friend.

"When?" Rouge asked with a raised eyebrow in confusion.

"When we were in the amusement park," Blaze replied, turning back towards the mirror as she ran the comb through her silky lilac locks. "Did you get the feeling…that someone was watching us? I know it might just be slight paranoia…"

"No, I agree," Rouge said, nodding as she leaned on her right side across her bed, resting her head in her propped elbow as she fiddled with her covers. She looked up at Blaze again. "It was kinda weird, but I didn't dwell on that fact right then and there."

"It just doesn't feel right," Blaze said with a sigh, placing the comb down on the nightstand. "I look back, and it gives me the weirdest sense of foreboding." She sat down on her bed, not bothering to get under the covers. It was a pretty hot day in May, surprisingly, that made it feel like summer already.

"We're probably just over thinking things," Rouge said, smiling a bit. "It won't be a problem."

Blaze sighed again, lying on her stomach as she closed her eyes. "I hope you're right," she whispered, reaching up for the lamp that was on the nightstand, shutting it off so there was darkness. "G'night, Rouge."

"'Night, Blaze."

With that, the two girls went to sleep, hoping that the strange feeling of paranoia was simply them worrying too much about things.

They had no idea how wrong they would be.

**Yay! Another chapter! I added Jason because, well, just about EVERY school has a pervert, in truth. And thank you again for the lovely reviews I received on my last chappie! Those reviews make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Thank you guys! And thanks for still reading this story! So please review! There's this lovely little button at the bottom of your screen that says 'Review', so please click it and leave your thoughts! And would it help you guys review if I said that the more reviews I get, the more quickly the next chapter will probably be posted? Yeah! ;) anyways, I'd LOVE to hear what you guys have to say. Thanks again!**

**And please, please, please review! I'll give you ice cream and chocolate! Who can resist that? ;)**


	3. Tests and Dark Secrets

**All-righty! Another chappie coming up! Sorry the wait took so long, but, ya know the drill and all—homework, sudden projects that I have to work nonstop on, the craziness of the holiday season, and all that bullshit. Yeah, it sucks. ;) To compensate, though I made this chappie extra long, so hope it satisfies!**

**Also, kagehime-sama53 came up with the great ideas for Konohana and Hanabi as OCs. So, when you see them in the chapter, if you like 'em, thank kagehime-sama53! She even came up with what happened and EVERYTHING! And also, check out her story, Sonic Blades! It's really awesome! And Shadazelover offered to let me use her OC, Relta, in my story as well. For those of you who just LOOOOOOVE Shadaze as a pairing, you HAVE to check out her stories! They're really awesome! Anyways, for these three OCs, all credit goes to kagehime-sama53 and Shadazelover! Besides those—Konohana, Hanabi, and Relta—I own all the other OCs in my story.**

**Another side note: give even more thanks to kagehime-sama53! She was able to give me an idea for this chappie! Once again, go and check out her story, Sonic Blades, if you read this! And thanks again, kagehime!**

**Yet another side note (I know I'm rambling, but bear with me): fanart is being done for Academy for Mutants! by kagehime-sama53. If you wanna see them (which I suggest you do—they're AMAZING!), then go to her profile and click the link that says it's for Academy for Mutants. Those pictures are AWESOME! Thank you, kagehime!**

**Disclaimer: I do NOT own Sonic the Hedgehog. I wish I did…but I don't. Oh well. *tear***

"Ugh," Sonic muttered, rolling his eyes as he saw what was posted on the bulletin board.

"That time of the month, huh?" Tails asked his best friend, looking at him with sympathy and understanding.

Once again, Sonic rolled his eyes in irritation as he nodded. "I don't understand why they do this," he grumbled peevishly under his breath, the annoyance ringing clear in his voice. "It's just stupid."

"Well, some kids can't control their power that well, and those who can't control it would need to stay closer to the school," Tails offered, seeing his name posted not too far away from Sonic's.

"Well, _I_ still think it's stupid," the blue-haired teenager mumbled with another eye-roll. "It's a waste of time! I have better things to do!"

Tails raised his eyebrow at Sonic. "It takes the grand total of about ten minutes," he told Sonic pointedly.

Sonic shot Tails a slightly irritated look, but let the ten-year-old have the last word on that one. It _was_ true, it was only ten minutes, but it was always _boring_ as hell.

Every month, each of the students at the Academy was tested, to see how much control they had over their mutation. The schedule was posted on the bulletin board for all the kids to see, so that they knew what day they were going and what time they were taking their "exam". The class was like gym and a test all rolled into one, in a manner. For example, Sonic would show how fast he could run, but would also show how he could stop or slow down at a moment's notice. For Tails, it would be how much control he had over flying. Depending on how much control the student exhibited over their power, they were allowed to go outside of the premises of the school. Those who were still gaining control over their power, though, stood in the school so that they could gain control of their power and eventually begin to go back into the world.

Sonic had been hoping that it wouldn't be today, but he had mentally counted down the days from his last test, and had known that, if not today, he was going to be tested again very, very soon. His suspicions had been correct, though, because there, on the board, showed that Sonic was scheduled to be examined at 11:55 a.m. that day.

Next to Sonic, a few of the other students groaned as well when they saw their names on the board.

"Oh, lovely," came a voice that Sonic was familiar with. Turning, he grinned a bit at the peevish expression that was on the girl's features, checking the schedule and seeing that she was going about three people before his own exam.

"Yeah, it sucks, eh, Konohana?" Sonic asked, smirking.

In reply, the girl rolled her eyes. Konohana was sixteen years old, having been found by Professor Wayne simply a year before. She had long, shiny black hair with a slight evergreen tint to it, and also tipped with that green on the ends of her hair. As of now, her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail that fell down and down, her long hair reaching down to her lower back. The features on her face were hard and slightly angular, even more so pronounced from the slightly intimidating shape of her bright green eyes. They always seemed to be in a glare, like Knuckles' and Shadow's, but seemed much more feminine in their appearance compared to the sharp angles of Knuckles' and Shadow's eyes. Her hair was parted to the left side, her bangs pushed to the side of her face so that her bright green eyes were clearly visible under perfectly shaped eyebrows. Her skin was slightly tanned, and was also well endowed, having a figure that could probably rival Rouge's famed feminine figure. She was wearing a light pink cardigan, and the ends of the sleeves were colored magenta. A red short skirt innocently hugged her figure, and she wore white over-the-knee high socks, along with small, light brown boots on her feet.

Konohana's mutation was the ability to control the wind and leaves. She was able to manipulate them to her will, and was also able to shape the leaves so that they were as sharp as a sword. If she focused hard enough, she was able to form the leaves into an actual samurai sword, able to use it as a weapon. When Konohana got angry, the leaves were able to simply materialize out of thin air—when she called on the wind, they simply appeared. Using the leaves, she was also able to make a makeshift clone so she is able to escape if she is in a fight, and, in some cases, can hide herself within a gust of leaves to attack.

Her mutation was geared as one of those that were more dangerous, seeing that, if she was angry, she was able to summon leaves, sharp as swords, and potentially hurt someone if she wasn't able to control it. It was a reason why she wasn't often allowed to leave the premises of the school.

"Yes, to put it frankly, it sucks," Konohana replied, crossing her arms.

Behind Konohana, Tails grinned as he noticed who was behind the slightly stoic girl. "Hi, Hanabi!" he greeted.

The slightly shy fifteen-year-old smiled when she saw the orange-haired boy. Hanabi was Konohana's younger sister by a year, and almost her polar opposite. She had long, light blond hair that seemed to have a slight shimmer to it, almost a frostiness, and it ended below her waist. Her bangs swept to the right side of her face and partially concealed her eye from view, but not by much. Her bangs were naturally colored magenta, accenting her eyes, which were light pink in color and framed with long, dark lashes. She was wearing a long sleeved red shirt, resembling a sailor outfit a bit, with the collar colored black and the think neck tie black as well. Her shirt was black, going slightly above the knee, and knee high socks with light brown boots.

Hanabi's mutation was outward, though it wasn't an animal mutation like most of the others that were outward mutations. Two horns rested atop of her head, peeking out through her long blond hair. The horns were shaped slightly like cat ears, made from bone. This, however, was very important. Those horns were the source of an energy deep within Hanabi, called 'Soul Flare.' With this energy within her being, she was able to shoot out the energy from her palms, and was also able to form large masses of the energy from her back, using it in any way she wants to, making it into any form. The masses of energy flow a transparent light blue color, and are extremely powerful—so powerful that they are able to destroy buildings in a manner of seconds. Hanabi was also able to control the energy around her body.

This was an extremely powerful and slightly dangerous power, and also extremely hard to hide. Hanabi usually never left the building without a hat on her head to cover her horns.

"Oh, Hanabi, you're gonna be tested tomorrow," Sonic said, looking at the schedule.

Hanabi nodded, smiling a gentle smile. She was usually a very shy person, usually hiding behind her older sister, who was very protective of her, but, when you got to know her, she was a very kind and caring young lady, a defender of those who are unable to defend themselves. Often, she protected the younger children in the Academy from older ones, who were sometimes bullies, having a strong sense of justice. She also was usually able to see things clearly, being very sharp and able to pinpoint the smallest things, able to tell if someone was lying or not, and able to see both sides of the story. Konohana, however, did not always see things as clearly as Hanabi did. However, both the sisters were defenders of the weak.

Konohana and Hanabi were still slightly new to the school, having only been there a year. Compared to some of the other students, who had been there for nearly their whole lives, one year wasn't that long. Tails, for example, had been there for three years. Sonic had been there ever since he was six years old, first developing his power. Blaze had been there since the age of seven, Knuckles since he was nine, Shadow since he was eight, Rouge since she was eight as well, and Cosmo had been there for two years. Amy had also been there for a while, four years, and others had been there for almost the entirety of their lives. Daniel, the boy who was part wolf, had been there since he was a year old, abandoned by his parents, who were ashamed that they had such a hideous son. He was found by the professor, who took him in, and Daniel had been one of his first "students/adopted children". Very few other kids had been here for their whole lives, but there were some kids that were. In reality, all the kids at the Academy were like one large family.

Hanabi and Konohana's situation was much like Daniel's own. They both came originally from Kyoto, Japan. Konohana was simply an average child, until she was a year old, when her little sister, Hanabi, was born. Their parents were utterly disgusted by the fact that Hanabi had horns on her head, and, in their insurmountable shame, they hid her away in their house, forbidding anyone else from seeing her, even their first daughter, Konohana. However, Konohana would always play with Hanabi in secret, forming a close relationship between the sisters that would never be severed, a bond that was unbreakable. When Hanabi turned nine years old, however, and Konohana was ten, their parents finally decided to abandon Hanabi.

Lividly, Konohana defended her sister, not allowing their parents to touch her.

"But…but that girl is a monster!" their father had sputtered, waving his hand in disgust towards the nine-year-old girl who was shaking behind Konohana in her fear.

Konohana had had enough of this. "NO!" she screamed at the top of her lungs, and, suddenly, much to her parents' shock, small leaves suddenly began to fly into the room, accompanied by a gust of wind. Konohana was seeing nothing but red, however, hearing nothing but the blood roaring in her ears in her fury as her small form trembled, the leaves swirling around her. "_YOU'RE_ the ones who are the MONSTERS!"

What happened next was all a blur. Before Konohana truly understood what was happening, the bodies of her parents fell to the floor, severed into many pieces as they bled profusely. Seeing their bodies suddenly falling on the floor, dead, caused Konohana to snap out of it. She looked around her in shock, seeing the leaves that had suddenly gathered around her, and, as her anger disappeared, so did the leaves. Disbelievingly, she went up to the mutilated bodies of their parents.

She had killed them.

It was too much for a ten-year-old girl to take, and the tears began to fill her eyes. No, she hadn't meant to _kill_ them! She just didn't want them to hurt Hanabi! They were going to _abandon_ her!

Suddenly, a shrill shriek sounded next door. One of the neighbors had come to visit Konohana's parents, and had witnessed the whole thing through the window.

"_MURDERER!"_ she screamed at the top of her lungs, running to the village. _"MURDERER!"_

Instantly, Konohana and Hanabi knew that they had to run, run as if their lives depended on it. Wordlessly, they grabbed each other's hands, and ran away from the dead bodies of their parents.

It wasn't until they were safely away that Konohana finally broke down from the shock of the crime that she had just committed.

After that incident, the two girls were on the run for five years, learning how to survive alone. There were many kind, generous people along the way, who willingly took in the girls and took care of them, but then, they always had to leave. It was last year when Professor Wayne suddenly crossed their paths, telling them about their mutations, and about the Academy.

Now, they were safe, and finally had a place to truly call home.

Sonic turned when he heard another familiar huff next to him, and he smirked at who came up next to him.

"Seriously?" came the irritated voice of Shadow as he grumbled curses under his breath. He was scheduled to perform his "exam" just before Sonic's own.

Sonic laughed a bit at his peevish look. "Yep," he grinned in reply, and couldn't help but laugh once more when Shadow's reaction was mutter foul words under his breath, cursing a blue streak as he crossed his arms and stalked away.

"Anger issues," Sonic whispered to Tails with mischief lacing his voice. Tails laughed in reply, his sky blue eyes shining with happiness and amusement at his friend's teasing.

"He isn't _that_ bad, Sonic," Tails replied with a grin.

"I know, I know," Sonic said, wearing a lopsided grin on his face. "But you have to admit, Shad isn't exactly the world's best conversationalist. And if you think it's tough just seeing the guy and barely having him speak a few words, then imagine what it's like having him for a _roommate_. Not that I'm complaining that he's my roommate…but he's so damn silent."

"You know why, Sonic, didn't he tell you?" Tails asked. Suddenly, the features on Sonic's face became grave as he nodded. Tails himself didn't know exactly what happened, but he knew that there was a reason to why Shadow was so taciturn, impassive, and stoic, besides his mutation. Shadow had only told a select few who he knew could keep secrets—Sonic, Blaze, and Rouge were a select few. Sonic would never betray a friend, Blaze was someone trustworthy, and Rouge wouldn't spread certain gossip that was personal, keeping it to herself. Even though, sometimes, Rouge _did_ enjoy gossip, she would _never_ tell anyone about the hard past of Shadow. Numerous times, people had tried to pry it out of them, but all three of them remained silent.

"He's had it tough, lil' buddy," Sonic said quietly, looking at the retreating form of the black-haired teen with crimson streaks in his hair.

"Most of us have, Sonic," Tails answered, his voice quiet.

Sonic nodded, not speaking. Most of the mutants here at the Academy had hard pasts, but they managed to move on. However, sometimes, their pasts left their marks on them—literally. Tails had a small scar on his back, a jagged line right above where his twin tails grew out of the small of his back. It was where his father had tried to extract the strange deformities himself, using a knife to cut into his own son's skin ruthlessly, and it was a scar that would never fade. Another example was Raiyne, with the scar across her right eye. The scar was still visible, and her eye color had completely changed as well. However, she would often refuse to go into details as to how she got that particular scar, and Adrian would always be near his little sister, protecting her from others who were too curious about how she got that terrible wound.

Suddenly, Sonic's eyes darted towards the clock. His eyes widened almost comically, and he suddenly exclaimed, _"Shit!"_

"What?" Tails asked, seeing the harried way that his speedy friend was grabbing his bag.

"I've got Spanish!" Sonic exclaimed, getting the stuff which he had carelessly dropped on the floor before back in his arms. "And Miss Rodriguez will give me _hell_ for being late! Shit, shit, shit, shit, SHIT!" With that, all that was left in Sonic's wake was a small flash of blue where he had momentarily stood.

With that abrupt exit, the dark mood of before that had temporarily taken over Tails significantly lightened. Hanabi laughed a bit, while Konohana couldn't help a small smirk form at the corners of her lips from Sonic's actions as she shook her head.

"I swear, Sonic is definitely one of a kind," Hanabi laughed a bit, her pink eyes filled with amusement and mischief.

Tails grinned at her. "I couldn't've said it better myself."

/

Sonic thought that his "test" had gone pretty well. He had a feeling that just about everyone else who took the "exam" today did fine, too. He was currently sitting in a seat in the far back of his chemistry classroom, waiting for Blaze to come in, because she had to take her own test a few minutes before, and would probably come in a few minutes late.

Now, the blue-haired teenager was bored out of his _mind_. Who really gave a crap about how to balance out chemical equations? Who cared about the nitrogen to hydrogen ratio in ammonium? Who really wanted to know about the product of the synthesis of sodium and hydrogen sulfate?

It was all going in one ear and out the other for him as he desperately tried to keep his eyes open. He looked towards the clock, and groaned when he realized that only four minutes had passed since the period had started, and he was already so bored that he was ready to fall asleep. That did _not_ seem to be a good sign for the rest of the forty-five minutes of the period, and he moaned as he rested his elbow on the table, trying to pay attention as he held his head up with his palm.

A minute or so later, Blaze walked in the classroom, her hair in the traditional high ponytail that she often wore it in, pulled back by a red hairtie. She gave the teacher her reason for being late, and Mr. Conner nodded as she went to her seat, sitting down next to Sonic.

"So, how'd it go?" Sonic asked quietly, keeping his voice low. If there was one thing that Mr. Conner hated, it was when his students were talking, or when they weren't "paying attention."

"I think it went fine," Blaze replied, turning to him before she rolled her eyes. "But, really, if I had extremely good power over my flames last month, why would they think that it would change drastically?"

Sonic shrugged. "I dunno. I still find it stupid how I get tested. I mean, yeah, I can go much faster and stop, but, if I'm able to control it, then why do they have to keep checking over and over when it won't change?"

"I agree that it _is_ stupid," the lilac-haired girl admitted, placing her bag on the floor after taking it out of her lap. She pulled out her books and set them on the table as she opened her binder, preparing to take notes. However, she realized that she knew this already, and let out a small aggravated sigh. This was probably a lesson for those who didn't understand—one of them Sonic, who was staring blankly at the board.

"I'm bored," he announced ten minutes later to her, his emerald green eyes staring intently at the board, as if he would suddenly understand by looking at it hard enough, as if something would simply trigger in his brain and make him completely get it.

His brain never triggered.

"Ugh," Sonic muttered in frustration, trying his damn hardest to understand. But Mr. Conner had the most monotone, boring voice, and all the letters and numbers and positive and negative signs were making no sense within Sonic's head whatsoever.

Blaze saw the way that Sonic seemed frustrated with himself. She smiled a small, knowing smile, getting ready to ask him before he beat her to the punch.

"I don't have a damn clue about what he's talking about. It's not making any freaking sense," Sonic grumbled irritably, placing his head in his hands.

Blaze laughed a bit at him, before saying, "Well, I understand it. I could try and help you out. What do you say to that?"

Sonic's head shot up at that. "Really?" he asked. He was already being dangerously close to failing chemistry, due to his utter lack of understanding what was going on during class, and he did _not_ need to fail on the test that was coming up that week.

"Of course!" Blaze replied with a small smile. While Mr. Conner continued to drone on, making half the class fall asleep and the other class whisper harshly to each other, Blaze was explaining to Sonic how to figure out the missing parts in chemical equations and how to balance them. The way that she was explaining it was so much easier to understand than it was to understand from the teacher, and much, much more interesting.

"So, if this is negative two and this is just two, then this'd also have to be two so that the charges cancel out?" Sonic asked, pointing to the paper, where they had quite a few examples on there.

Blaze nodded. "Exactly."

"But, then…what happens with this one? They both have more than one possible charge…" Sonic trailed off, his head hurting slightly.

Blaze couldn't help but laugh a bit at the frustration he exhibited towards himself. Then, she calmly began to explain how to balance the more difficult chemical equations, using her pen and fingers to direct to what she was saying to him, often making eye contact with him. Soon, Sonic was finally able to get it, simply because Blaze had to, as Sonic called it, "dumb it down" a bit for him, which she did with ease.

"I think I got it!" Sonic suddenly exclaimed. "So, this'd have to go here…and then there'd be three of these…and then this'd have…a subscript of two! Is that right?"

Blaze nodded once more, a small smile on her face. In this way, her personality was slightly like Hanabi's own personality—she was a bit shy when she first met others, but, when you got to know her, she was a kind, caring person.

"Then, they'd form a solid, right?" he asked, pointing to the letters, subscripts, and other things related to chemistry formulas on their paper.

Blaze shook her head. "No, they don't," she said, pulling out the periodic table that everyone was handed out. "See, to be a solid, they have to be from…this group, right here, both of them. See? You need the table for this."

"Oh…" Sonic trailed off, actually understanding much better now that Blaze was explaining to him.

For the last few minutes of the period, Blaze continued to show Sonic how to do chemical formulas. By the end of it, the speedy teenager's head was hurting a bit from all the information he had to absorb, because they were going to have a test on this subject the next day, and he had not understood _one_ _word_ of what the teacher had said. It hadn't made sense in his brain, but now, he understood, even though it _did_ hurt his head a bit.

When the bell rang, Sonic and Blaze immediately stood up, like most of the other teenagers when the lovely sound of the bell reached their ears, signaling that the unbearable torture of listening to Mr. Conner's droning, boring voice was over.

"Thanks, Blaze," Sonic said gratefully, flashing her one of his trademark grins.

Blaze smiled in reply. "No problem, Sonic," she told him, her golden eyes shining, glad to be of use to someone.

"No, seriously, thanks," Sonic went on. "If it hadn't been for you explaining it to me, I would've been _screwed_ for the test tomorrow!"

She laughed a bit, shaking her head. "I'm sure you would've gotten it eventually," she reassured him.

He raised an eyebrow at her disbelievingly. "I barely understand Mister Conner says," he replied, looking at her pointedly. "You know that I just barely pass the tests—hell, I think I _failed_ in most of them!"

"But you passed the make-up tests," Blaze said, trying to be optimistic, grinning a bit at him.

Sonic rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I got a sixty-five at my highest grade on those," he answered, slightly annoyed.

She laughed a bit at the tone he used. "Sonic, you'll be just fine," she said, shifting the weight of her bag from one arm to the other.

"Try telling that to Mister _Conner_," Sonic said, shaking his head. "He _obviously_ thinks that I'm going to fail _every_ single damn test I take! He even told me so himself!"

"Well, _I_, for one, know that you _aren't_ going to fail every exam," Blaze said to him with another small smile on her face.

"I hope not," Sonic grumbled, annoyance in his voice.

"Hey, it'll be all right—if you need more help, I'll tutor you, how about that?" she offered.

"Tutor?" He raised his eyebrow at her in question, a playful smirk on his lips. "Because you're _so_ much smarter than I am, right? You're so _well_ _educated_." His tone was teasing.

Blaze rolled her eyes, punching him in the shoulder, making him laugh. "_You_ know what I mean, you idiot," she teased in reply, flicking his nose, which she knew was an action that irritated him to no end.

Just like she suspected, Sonic instantly became annoyed as he rolled his own eyes, making her laugh her small, light laugh once more.

As they stood outside the door of the chemistry class, where this conversation was taking place, a familiar voice called out, "Hey, Sonic! Hey, Blaze!"

Sonic grinned when he heard the familiar, lively voice, as did Blaze.

"Hey, Relta!" Sonic greeted as the very lively girl stood in front of them.

"Hi!" she responded eagerly. Relta was fifteen years old, with skin that was a creamy-peach color, not too dark but not very pale either. Her hair reached down to the middle of her back, and it was dominantly a white color, like the moon's surface, the color of a swan's feathers or a pure white rose. Her hair was also streaked greatly with a lovely sky-blue color, the same exact shade of a warm summer sky on a clear day, not a sign of a cloud to block out the beautiful sunlight, and her hair all fell in lovely, pretty layers around her face. Her eyes were a dark, dark brown, the color of both milk chocolate and dark chocolate, warm and beautiful, always portraying her emotion, whether she was happy or sad, angry or surprised, and the like. She wore black vinyl pants along with a red tank top, along with knee-high brown boots with slight heels on them. On her wrists were multiple red bracelets that were simply a shade darker than her shirt. Relta had the power to control water—in the rain, she was extremely powerful, able to manipulate the water at her will, as well as if she was in the sea. Hell, she was even powerful if she was near _anything_ that held a source of water. Absolutely _anything_, and she was able to control it with simple movements of her hand, even with her mind.

"How'd your exam go?" Sonic asked, remembering that he had seen her name quite a bit before his own, scheduled for earlier in the morning.

"It went fine, I guess," she replied with a shrug, rolling her eyes. None of the students enjoyed the tests, but they were mandatory.

"They're idiotic, aren't they?" Blaze asked with a small smile, having easily read the slight irritation on Relta's features.

"_Yes,"_ Relta responded eagerly, nodding her head vigorously. "But, still, they aren't _too_ terrible." She smiled. "If it helps the other students out, then it's all right with me!"

Sonic grinned, shaking his head. Relta always managed to see the good in people, no matter what—they could be the most irritable bitch in the world, and she could state about five good things that they'd done or five good qualities about them. Another thing that definitely made her an individual was her almost never-ending well of patience. It took something _very_ drastic to make her angry, and she always had a calm, joyful demeanor. When you were around Relta, you couldn't help but smile. Her eagerness was infectious.

"Oh, I gotta go," Relta said, her eyes quickly darting towards the clock. "I have Miss Rodriguez for Spanish, and _you_ know how she is, Sonic."

Sonic laughed. "Hurry, before she gives you a lecture on being two seconds late," he told her, and she laughed at his joke. Then, she flashed both Sonic and Blaze a smile before she ran away, calling her goodbyes to them as she ran down the hallways, getting mentally ready to go up all the stairs to her class. They called back their farewells also.

"Well, see ya later?" Sonic asked, turning towards Blaze. "I think the gang's gonna meet at our room this time, after school's over."

"Sure," Blaze replied. "See you after school, then, Sonic."

"Bye," Sonic said to her, and she smiled at him before she went to her next class, having wasted enough time by talking with the blue-haired teen. She needed to get to her class, or else she was going to get in trouble by her next teacher.

Sonic began to go to his next class, leisurely walking, because it was only a few doors down, luckily, from his chemistry class, so he didn't have to rush. He had it much better than a lot of the other kids there, who had classes on many different floors and always had to go up and down the stairs to go to their next classes. It sounded like it sucked.

Suddenly, a small squeal came behind Sonic, and his eyes widened in fear as he turned around to see an all-too-familiar bob of pink hair heading his way.

"_Sonic!"_ Amy squealed happily, running towards him as she prepared to tackle him with a hug.

His eyes darting to the side, Sonic quickly dashed for the door that his next class was in and entered the classroom, so quickly that he was gone in the split second that Amy blinked. When she opened her eyes again after that one millisecond, she realized that he wasn't in front of her any more.

Amy pouted. Why, why, _why_ did Sonic have to be so _stubborn_? He _always_ ran away from her, for reasons that she was simply unable to fathom.

Oh well, she condescended to herself, shrugging. It was worth a shot today.

And it wasn't as if it made such a big deal that he'd run away from her again. She'd try hugging him once more when they met up after school. In fact, her own adopted mantra was: 'If at first you don't succeed, try, try again.'

Hell yeah, she would _definitely_ try again.

/

Knuckles was shocked.

Now, very few things could shock the hot-headed, red-haired teen. Very, _very_ few things were able to shock him.

But what Professor Wayne had proposed to be a problem in their chemistry class…

The only classes that the Professor taught was one chemistry class, and the other classes that he taught were about two or three Physics classes. Knuckles was one of the lucky ones to have him for Chemistry, because, if you didn't understand anything, he'd be able to tell and go over it until you understood it. And sometimes, he'd tell his classes of the things that were going on—not private things, mind you, but how a certain person was adapting to the school here, or how another mutant might be coming, and the like.

But this…this had been over the top.

Once again, Professor Wayne had been getting those strange vibes from outside, the ones that Knuckles had told his friends about a few days ago. Now, he had actually voiced his opinion on why they were different.

Apparently, Professor W believed that those mutants weren't _supposed_ to be mutants, whatever that meant. And, when the class had been confused at just what the professor meant by that, he had proceeded to explain what he thought.

The mind-reading mutant believed that there were kids being _experimented_ on out there.

His reasoning was this—the children were being experimented on, and they were unable to truly bond with their mutation. While all the other kids at the Academy seemed to be coping quite well with their mutations, these children's vibes seemed to be giving off pain.

Professor W thought that they were being experimented on, being mutated by scientists who wanted to advance in genetic engineering and the creation of life and the like. It was why they felt so different from the other mutants at the Academy.

But who was doing it, and why?

It made the kids in his chemistry class all very, very surprised.

At lunch that day, Knuckles told the news of what he had heard to his friends. The reactions had been instantaneous.

"What the _hell_?" Sonic said, eyes wide. "Does he _seriously_ think that someone out there is mutating other kids?"

"Well, it _would_ make sense," Tails said thoughtfully, looking away. "Why else would they feel very different? There are probably people out there that are tampering with their DNA, mixing it with other DNA and the like. They probably aren't…_naturally_ mutated like we are." Even that term was a bit loose for the mutants at the Academy. No one was sure if they were supposed to be mutated, or if it was by some freak accident that they were different. But they had, for the most part, felt at ease with their mutations.

"Oh, my god, the poor _kids_," Amy fretted, her hand over her mouth as she thought of the horrible things that might be done to the innocent children. "Why would people _do_ stuff like that?"

"I don't know, Amy," Cosmo said quietly, her own heart aching as she thought of the fear that those children could be going through.

"That's the way the world is," Shadow suddenly growled out, his ruby red eyes glaring. "All those normal people out there are nothing but bastards and bitches, the whole lot of them. They're scared of us because of our mutations, and now, they're probably wondering _how_ we're mutated, and taking it out on little kids as they try to do it."

Venomous hatred was laced within Shadow's voice, nearly tangible with its intensity. He was furious, and only three teens knew exactly the reason for his fury—Sonic, Blaze, and Rouge. They were the only ones who truly understood.

"I hate to say this, guys, but I agree that Shad has a point," Rouge said, making eye contact with the others. "It _would_ make sense that they're afraid of us and trying to figure out just _how_ we're mutated. I mean, most of us have powers that would be considered to be _fatal_ for them if they had our…_condition_."

"But still, taking it out on helpless little kids…that's just wrong," Sonic said, shaking his head.

"Professor W doesn't have a good feeling about this," Knuckles said to the others. "He feels that there's an _evil_ behind this or something. He says that we should be ready for a fight at any time by either these mutants or the people who are mutating them. He even thinks that they might try to capture one of us to conduct experiments on _us_."

"I think that, if anyone wants to leave the vicinity, that we shouldn't be alone," Blaze said quietly. "We should always be accompanied by someone. It would make the chances of them capturing us—if we're ever found—much lower, because we would have another person with us."

Everyone at the table agreed with Blaze's statement.

"I think Professor Wayne's gonna make an announcement similar to that," Knuckles added. "He seemed really worried and concerned, and I've _never_ seen him look like that before. I think this is serious, you guys."

"This is messed up," Sonic said angrily. "Those bastards who're hurting little kids…" He knew that, if he was able to, that he would save those little kids from whoever was hurting them without a second thought. No kid deserved to go through something like that against their will, and, according to what Knuckles had told them that Professor W had said, the kids were in pain. They didn't _want_ this to happen to them, and a chance at their normal lives was ripped away from them the moment those sick freaks conducted their experiments on them.

The blue-haired teenager clenched his fist in anger, fighting to control his rage. The thought of some mysterious person somehow stealing Tails, or Cosmo, or one of his friends, just so that experiments could be conducted on them, was something that made him absolutely furious. He fought hard to control his anger, his teeth gnashing together, shutting his eyes.

The others as the table noticed this, and the knew that, if they didn't help Sonic regain control of his anger, then it would end _badly_.

"Sonic, calm down," Knuckles said, authority lacing his tone as he looked at his friend.

"Sonic, keep your anger in check," Blaze told him softly, her voice calm and gentle and soothing. Sonic felt some of his anger go away a bit at the tones of his friends' voices.

"Sonic, it's all right," Tails said comfortingly, holding his best friend's hand. "It's not fair, I know, but you have to keep calm. You can't transform. I think only Professor W and us know about it. If you do, something bad might happen."

_That_ statement made Sonic rein in his anger, taking in deep breaths to calm himself. He knew that he couldn't transform, because he might potentially harm someone without meaning to.

The truth was, Sonic had a secret, a secret that no one else knew but his closest friends and the Professor. Only the other seven seated at the table knew this dark secret about the seemingly always-jovial teen.

Super speed wasn't the only mutation that Sonic had. There was another, a darker one that he kept hidden.

Very rarely, his anger controlled him, and with that anger came Sonic's secret.

Dark Sonic.

Dark Sonic was what Sonic transformed into when his anger was too strong. The anger actually manifested into a physical form, and empowered Sonic, making him transform into Dark Sonic, a monster who could ruthlessly kill and destroy without remorse. When Sonic turned into Dark Sonic, all sense of reasoning had left him, and it always seemed that he was just barely able to remember that he wasn't able to kill anyone. Quite a few times, he had damn near killed some of the kids at school with his transformation, having lost his sanity when one of his friends was hurt.

The transformation changed Sonic's appearance outwardly. When he transformed, a dark aura would gently begin to rise from his skin, licking at his skin like dark blue flames, surrounding his form the slightest bit. His normally cobalt blue hair would darken, becoming an extremely dark blue, the color of a starless night sky, such a deep blue that it seemed black. His skin would become slightly paler, making the contrast between his hair and skin even more prominent, and his dark hair would lift up quite a bit, as if being effected by static electricity, uncontrolled around his face.

But the most frightening thing about Sonic's appearance when he transformed into Dark Sonic was his eyes. His eyes, which normally had emerald green irises that were full of laughter and held a sparkle in them, as if he knew a great secret, would change. They would become white, pure white—completely devoid of irises of pupils. Just blank white eyes that sent fear trickling down anyone's spine if they made eye contact with anyone.

This form was kept secret from everyone because it would probably frighten the other kids. Dark Sonic was a killer, a monster, the much darker version of Sonic himself, a ruthless being only seeking revenge. If the anger wasn't curbed, Dark Sonic could possibly kill everyone in the school without the true Sonic being aware of what his dark counterpart was doing. Dark Sonic actually took complete control of Sonic's consciousness, so most of the things that Sonic did as Dark Sonic was completely unknown to him. Very rarely, though, Sonic became conscious, and reined in his anger before it would overpower him and turn him into a completely heartless monster.

Seeing that Sonic had calmed down, the others at the table let out inward sighs of relief. Whenever he transformed, he had always become completely unmanageable, and would somehow have to be knocked out by either Knuckles or Shadow before he would revert back to his normal state.

"When we go outside, we have to make sure to be on guard at all times," Knuckles finally said, when he realized that Sonic had his extremely volatile temper under control. "We should tell each other of any suspicious activity, and then report it to the Professor."

"Agreed," Amy said, her grass-green eyes serious, something that they rarely were. Everyone understood the severity of the situation.

"Rouge," Blaze murmured quietly, so softly that all the others weren't able to hear her but the white-haired girl that she was sitting next to. Rouge turned to her friend, noticing that the other six people at the table had engaged into conversation, before making eye contact with the fiery-tempered teen.

"Yeah?" Rouge whispered in reply, understanding that Blaze wanted to keep this quiet.

"Remember when we went to the amusement park?" Blaze asked softly. "That feeling that both of us had? That we were being watched?"

"Yeah," Rouge said with a nod, wondering exactly where Blaze was going with this.

"Well, what if…what if the people that we think were watching us were those people who are doing the experiments on people?" Blaze wondered aloud. "Maybe they were trying to get a hold of us, probably trying to take us away to experiment on us. Do you think that it could be a possibility?"

"Well, that definitely is a good reason," Rouge mused aloud. "It _would_ make sense…"

Just then, the bell that declared that lunchtime was over suddenly rang. It rang a bit earlier than normal, and everyone turned to look at the bell strangely, as if it would actually have answers to why it rang early.

They got their answer when a familiar voice sounded through the loudspeakers.

"All students," came the voice of Professor Wayne, "please report to the meeting hall immediately. There is very important information that must I must tell you."

After that abrupt statement, it shut off. Instantly, the harsh whispering erupted between the kids as they wondered what the hell would be so important that they would have to go to the meeting hall in the middle of a school day. Surely it couldn't be good.

Everyone began standing up, clustering around their groups of friends as they all went to the hallways. The school was definitely crowded because all the kids were heading to the meeting hall, but it wasn't as if it was completely uncomfortable. After all, the Academy was extremely large, because Professor W was extremely wealthy. This was his mansion in which he housed all the mutants who needed help.

All the kids attending the Academy managed to fit in the big meeting hall, which probably would've been able to fit a few blue whales in it comfortably and still have enough room for other things to join the party; that was how big it was. They all sat down in the foldable chairs that had been quickly set up for the event, and the harsh whispers continued as they looked up at the slightly raised platform that usually stood as a stage for Professor W.

"What would be this important so that he called us in the middle of the day?" one student whispered, fear lacing her voice.

"How would _I_ know?" another student retorted, seeming slightly annoyed.

"Hey, do you think it has to do with something that he mentioned to his Chemistry and Physics classes?" another kid whispered.

"Maybe, but you never know," a different student answered.

"What's going on, Relta?" Khione whispered, turning to the other white-haired girl. A week or two, give or take, had passed since she'd begun to attend the school, and she was adapting rather nicely to the environment, already having made plenty of friends here. Relta was one of them, and had instantly treated Khione with warmth and made her feel a bit more at ease, and Khione was now her good friend.

"I don't know," Relta replied, her face oddly serious and grave. "But we never get called in for a meeting unless it's something really, _really_ important. The last time that we had a meeting, it was because we were in danger, because Professor W sensed that other people were coming with guns to try and hurt us, because they didn't trust us mutants and thought that we were threats. That was a little over a year ago, and these things are rarer than blue moons. I just hope that it isn't something else like that."

On the other side of the room, Raiyne was taking in deep breaths, closing her eyes as she gripped her upper arms for support, rocking back and forth in her chair as she whispered things under her breath, shaking her head. Next to her, Adrian soothingly comforted his sister, rubbing her back, saying soothing words to her.

Adrian had Professor Wayne for Physics, and had told his sister the news. They both had their suspicions, which brought back a wave of memories for the girl which she'd rather not relive, causing her to clam up, not allowing anyone near her but her brother. No one understood why, but, from one glare that Adrian directed at them, any questions that they had about Raiyne's odd behavior suddenly evaporated quickly, and they had become oddly interested in the ceiling or had suddenly become engrossed in a very interesting conversation with the person next to them.

"Raiyne, it's all right," Adrian whispered soothingly to the distraught teenager, who was breathing heavily.

"This can't be happening…this can't be happening…not again, not again…I can't go back there, I can't go back, Adrian…" She wasn't forming complete sentences, simply mumbling things like that in fearful whispers. Her eyes opened and were now wide with fear.

"You're _not_ going back. I promised you that it would never happen again," Adrian said quietly to her.

"I can't go back…I can't…I can't…" Raiyne whispered as she moved her hands up, now clutching her black hair between her agitated fists. Pain flashed in front of her eyes. "They can't be doing this again, this can't be happening again, this just can't…"

"Shhh, Raiyne, it's OK, it'll be OK," Adrian tried to reassure her.

"Can't go back there…can't see them again…I can't…I can't…" Only things like those mumbled words were leaving her mouth, sometimes incoherent as her mismatched eyes glazed over. Her skin seemed to even become a bit paler with her fear.

Just then, a hush came over the room when Professor Wayne appeared, walking towards the small raised platform with purpose. His face was grave, his gray eyes completely serious, showing that this was, indeed, something important. The talking was now muted to extremely quiet whispers that were barely heard by anyone but the people that they were sitting next to.

"I'm sure you're all wondering why I suddenly called you," Professor W said, easily able to address all the students without the use of a microphone because of the way the room bounced sound off the barren walls. The meeting room was rarely used, leading to it not to be decorated or really cared for as a main room, but it was still tidy nevertheless.

"Well, I have some very disturbing news that I believe I should share with all of you," the mind-reader continued, tone grave. "As some of you may already know, based on information that you heard from students in my Chemistry and Physics classes, I have been getting a strange feeling of other mutants out there that seem different then the way that you feel—darker, somehow, more twisted and warped, different then yours.

"I have now drawn a conclusion, and, though it may not be true, I feel that I should share it with you all—I believe that there are children out there being experimented on, being mutated, and that they are the sources of these strange signals."

Anxious murmurs from kids who hadn't heard that began to erupt. The Professor held up his hand slowly, and the talking ceased for a moment.

"I am telling you this because I fear that we may be breached," he went on. "Maybe these men who are mutating children are also looking for one of you, to capture and to experiment on you." His eyes quickly darted over to the corner that Raiyne was in with Adrian, before they turned back to the audience. It was too quick for anyone else to see, but Sonic had been able to catch it, because of his power of super speed. He wondered what Raiyne had to do with anything.

"I know some of you are thinking that I may have finally gone insane," he said, looking pointedly at a group of boys—which included Jason—who had been sniggering quietly. When they heard that, however, they blushed a bit and sunk down in their seats. The Professor continued as if nothing had happened.

"However, I assure you that I am not insane, and that I am mentally stable. But I truly believe that this could become a problem—it wouldn't be the first time that mutants were hunted down. From now on, I expect for you to be on guard at all times when you leave the premises of this building. Even better, you should never leave this place alone, and always have a partner with you. Being alone will greatly dampen your hopes of escape and fighting if you're cornered, but if there are two of you, your chances of winning will be greater. If you all travel in groups, then I don't think that there's truly anything to worry about if you all watch each other's backs.

"Please, take care, everyone. And, if you have any valuable information to give me, you may speak to me in private, if you do not wish to show me," Professor W finished. "If you have any idea of who could be doing these experiments, please come and tell me. It will stay confidential, and it will not be revealed who has told me this information. The rest of the school day is off—you have the rest of the day free."

With that, he got down from the platform. Instantly, all the kids began to stand up again, walking around. Adrian had to gently coax Raiyne to get up, but she was extremely stiff, still mumbling incoherent things under her breath.

Khione and Relta saw this—they had been close to Adrian and Raiyne—and began to worry for their friend. Both the girls walked over to her, where Adrian was crouched over Raiyne protectively.

"Raiyne, what's wrong?" Khione asked gently.

"I can't go back…they can't be back…" Raiyne whispered, shaking her head, her fingers still gripping her hair tightly, her beautiful eyes haunted with terrible things lurking in their depths—fear, rage, pain, agony, and many other emotions flickered within her eyes.

Some other students, Sonic and his friends included, saw the distress that Raiyne was in and went over to help her. The poor girl was frozen, still in that slightly fetal position. Adrian glared at everyone as he protectively stood near his sister.

"Hey, sugar, what's wrong? What happened?" Rouge asked gently, placing a hand on Raiyne's back.

Raiyne's reply was a gasp, her eyes widening even more. "This can't happen…it can't happen to others…no, I can't go back there!"

"Can't go back _where_?" Sonic asked.

Adrian glared at him. "She doesn't have to answer you," he replied defensively, getting very protective of his little sister as he glared at anyone to challenge what he just said.

Just then, a familiar figure came towards where the small group that had formed, and the Professor gently made some of the kids leave. However, Khione, Relta, Sonic, Knuckles, Amy, Rouge, Blaze, Tails, Cosmo, and even Shadow remained undeterred. They wouldn't leave Raiyne.

"Would you be comfortable telling me what happened?" Professor W asked Raiyne gently, his compassionate gray eyes gently looking into her mismatched ones.

Raiyne slowly looked up, making complete eye-contact with him. "I…I guess it's OK," Raiyne said quietly, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Do you mind if your friends hear this, too?" the kindly old man went on.

"Yeah, it's…it's all right," Raiyne answered, her voice slightly shaky. The Professor nodded, and Adrian gently coaxed her to stand up. Professor W began to lead the group of a dozen teenagers to his office, going up a flight of stairs before he opened the door. He turned around, allowing them inside.

The office was rather nice, very homey-looking. Small antiques dotted the area around them, lined up on small shelves—there was a small clock, and a snow globe, and a few other miscellaneous items. The walls were painted a warm tan hue, and the desk was made of cherry wood, a beautiful shade of brown, and polished perfectly.

Professor Wayne took a seat behind his desk on the revolving chair, and then motioned for the other children to sit down. Each of them sat down on a chair somewhere in the room, with Adrian and Raiyne sitting right in front of him.

"So, Raiyne, can you tell me your experience with something like this?" Professor W asked.

"Well…" Raiyne trailed off, and regained confidence when her brother squeezed her hand. "Sir, only my brother and one other person in this school knows the truth about this…"

"You can tell me, because you don't want me going in your memories, correct?" the Professor gently prodded.

Raiyne nodded. She then took in a shaky breath, letting it out ad her heart rate erratically sped up with her fear. "When I was younger, when I just discovered my power, I was…I was captured."

"How?" Sonic asked impulsively, and clapped his hands over his mouth.

Raiyne actually managed a shaky smile. "Of course you'd be inquisitive about this, Sonic," she said. "It's all right. Our parents died a little while after I was born—we were put in the system, but we were treated terribly, and we decided to leave. Adrian took care of me, and we both realized that we were mutants around the same time—my power developed at a younger age than Adrian's mutations did. One day, though I strayed too far from his watch, and the next thing I knew was that I was shot with something before I passed out."

Raiyne's voice became shaky as she went on. "When I woke up…I was in a cage. It was cold, and dark, and I was…I was scared. I was only seven years old when they captured me. Then, they…they did terrible things to me. I would rather not day what they did…but they mostly experimented on me, sticking me with needles and making me do tests…I was treated like an animal…like a _thing_, an _object_, like I wasn't even a person…"

"Raiyne, you don't have to tell them," Adrian said gently when she wavered.

"It's all right, I think they should know. This might help us figure out who's trying to get us," Raiyne answered her brother, but she was slightly faltering in her resolve. She took another deep breath before continuing. "I don't know how long I was there…I think it was over two months? But I completely lost all sense of time when I was there…I only knew darkness and…and pain…" She jerked her head away, tears forming in her eyes.

"That's how I got this scar," she said quietly, and she didn't have to specify. Everyone knew what she was talking about. "It was a failed attempt to place a drug in my system…oh, god!" she suddenly wailed, placing her head in her hands, fighting back the tears, the silent sobs wracking her body. It had been the most terrible experience of her life.

"I'm so sorry, Raiyne," Professor W said, gently and sincerely.

"We all are," Amy said quietly, speaking for the whole group, who nodded in agreement.

Adrian's lips formed into a sneer. "She doesn't need your _pity_," he nearly snarled out like an animal.

"Adrian, it's all right," Raiyne said, gently placing her hand on his toned arm. His eyes flickered to her face, and she nodded a bit, saying that she was fine. Adrian had always been extremely protective of her after that, inadvertently blaming himself for not watching over her more closely. He had managed to free her when he found out where she was by creating a distraction, and then slinking in and stealing her away before the crazed scientists would ever know he had gone in. It had also helped that Raiyne used her power over darkness to cloak him.

"Do you think that this experience could be linked to what's happening now?" the Professor asked Raiyne.

"Actually, I'm almost positive that those same scientists who experimented on me are the ones who are mutating these other innocent children," Raiyne responded, pure, venomous hatred lacing her voice. It was if her very words were dripping acid; that was how tangible her hared for the scientists seemed to be. They had been heartless, soulless bastards who experimented on a seven-year-old kid—she hated them with al of her heart.

"Do you know who they were? How many scientists were there?" Professor Wayne asked.

"In reality, there was only two," Raiyne answered, looking away, hatred in her tone. "They had underlings who sometimes made sure that I was stable, but those two were always the ones who performed experiments on me. Hell, they even had some _robots_ to do stuff, but all the major things were done with their own two hands."

"Do you know their names?" the mind-reader asked. He didn't necessarily _need_ to ask, but he'd rather she spoke it than him obtaining his answer by probing through her mind uninvited.

She looked back at him, hatred and rage burning within the depths of her beautiful eyes. "Yeah," she answered. The next words, she spat out with completely revulsion, as if they left a foul taste in her mouth, but she was shaking, shaking with complete fear.

"Their real names were Ivo Robotnik and Nega Robotnik. But they called themselves Doctor Eggman and Doctor Eggman Nega, and together, they're called the Eggmen."

**Sooooooooooo, what'd ya think of that little twist, eh? Still able to incorporate the Eggmen! This idea totally hit me just a few minutes ago, and I just HAD to write it down.**

**Also, more reasons for absolute lateness—finals week is coming up, and I have to STUDY STUDY STUDY STUDY like I've NEVER studied before in my LIFE! Anyways, hope the wait was worth it! I shall try to update faster, but I think that monthly updates are gonna be more often then weekly ones. Also, I'm gonna be focusing on this one a bit more than Darkness Awakens (I know I left it on a MAJOR cliffy but I'm kinda stuck right now) before I have more ideas for this in my head than for my other story.**

**Also, you guys, you should totally check out these stories: Sonic Blades, by kagehime-sama53, and stories written by Shadazelover—I would recommend reading any of her fics, they're all well-written and really great, especially if you're a fan of Shadaze! Also, like I stated before, there's fanart for my story Academy for Mutants! Just check out kagehime's profile, and you can see the link. I advise you to check them out—they are absolutely AWESOME!**

**Love ya all who are reading this! Please continue to read this, and please, please, PLEASE review! Those reviews, like I said before, totally make my day, and they make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. It's a nice feeling XD free choice of any two of these things if you leave me a review: ice cream, cookies, brownies, pie, cake, and chocolate! If you review, you get to choose two of these things for FREE! Yay! XD**

**Please review! You guys are the BEST!**


	4. Memories of the Past

**Thank you for all of the lovely reviews for the last chapter! Love ya all! *hugs for everyone*! XD So, I'll shut up now and let you read the next chappie! (By the way, if any of you guys really read the full extent of my A/Ns, I'd be super-DUPER impressed XD I just realized how LOOOOOOONG they can be! Oh, I'm rambling now! Sorry! XP)**

**Anyways, on with the story! Hope ya like! XD**

**Disclaimer: Trust me, if I owned Sonic the Hedgehog, there'd be A LOT of differences. Amy wouldn't be so clingy, Knuckles wouldn't be so gullible, Charmy wouldn't be so annoying, Vector wouldn't be so retarded, Espio would have a MUCH bigger part to play in everything, and Cream and Cheese would DEFINITELY have a bigger part to play in everything. And, also, I'm only in high school. So, it's pretty obvious that I DON'T own it.**

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><p>Pure fear and venomous hatred were the only emotions within Raiyne's mismatched eyes when she spoke of the men who had given her the scar that permanently marred her for life. The Eggmen. It was almost as if she had swallowed something utterly disgusting, as if simply speaking their name would cause her to feel the sudden urge to vomit.<p>

She hated them. She hated them for what they did to her. She would _never_ forgive them.

Meanwhile, the others in the room were absorbing this newfound information.

"Do you think that these…_Eggmen_ are the ones that are experimenting on these other children?" Professor Wayne asked Raiyne gently.

"I think that it's definitely a possibility," Raiyne replied. "Those bastards are heartless. They feel no remorse for what they do, none at all." Her voice was nearly spitting out acid, but laced under that acid was the fear that she was trying valiantly to hide. Under all the hatred and anger, she was completely and utterly terrified of the Eggmen.

"Do you remember what they're like?" Professor W asked Raiyne gently.

"I told you—they're heartless, and will stop at nothing to get whatever the hell they want," Raiyne replied. "They will kill as many people as they must if they stand in their way. But, the bad thing is, they're also geniuses. Evil, megalomaniac geniuses, but still geniuses. So, they won't mindlessly start killing people, or do idiotic things. No, they have big, grand schemes that they fully think through and will unleash. They also are able to make _robots_ that can actually _think_ for themselves. Not controlled with a remote—they actually have _brains_, almost. They're almost…_human_, dare I say it." She shuddered inadvertently as she remembered what some of the robots looked like—many of them looked like they were made up of medieval torture devices, with emotionless, glowing red eyes that showed no remorse when they ruthlessly stabbed needles within her skin, making pain course through her system as she screamed—

Forcibly, she stopped herself from thinking these thoughts, blinking as she shook her head and clenched her fist tightly.

"Excuse me if this is intruding…but what types of things were done to their…_experiments_?" the Professor asked Raiyne quietly.

His gentle tone of voice, however, had no effect on her. The question brought back waves of memories that had been well-submerged over the time as she had lived here with her brother and gotten friends. But all of it came crashing back in strange, sporadic bursts, incomprehensible thoughts.

_Pain_ _pain_ _fear_ _pain_ _pain_ _agony_ _hurt_ _darkness_ _cold_ _pain_ _freezing_ _pain_ _pain_ _pain_ _scared_ _lost_ _worried_ _pain_ _darkness_ _death_ _needles_ _pain_ _pain_ _pain_ _experiments_ _needles_ _blood_ _blood_ _blood_ _all_ _the_ _blood_ _all_ _the_ _pain_ _pain_ _pain_ _pain_ _agony_ _scared_ _where's_ _Adrian_ _pain_ _pain_ _death_ _other_ _kids_ _deaths_ _other_ _mutants_ _hurt_ _experimented_ _on_ _starvation_ _hurt_ _pain_ _scared_ _so_ _scared_ _screams_ _screaming_ _shrieking_ _needles_ _injections_ _all_ _the_ _injections_ _blood_ _blood_ _red_ _blood_ _fear_ _cold_ _cold_ _freezing_ _cold_ _dark_ _cage_ _cage_ _crate_ _rancid_ _smell_ _death_ _needles_ _blood_ _fluids_ _fear_ _fear_ _fear_ _darkness_ _cold_ _blood_ _blood_ _blood_ _blood_ _her_ _blood_ _their_ _blood_ _all_ _the_ _mutants'_ _blood_ _crimson_ _blood_ _pain_ _agony_ _fire_ _fire_ _fire_ _inside_ _her_ _body_ _fire_ _fire_ _pain_ _agony_ _screaming_ _screaming_ _pain_ _pain_ _pain_ _she_ _was_ _on_ _fire_ _fire_ _burning_ _her_ _inside_ _out_ _burning_ _burning_ _pain_ _burning_ _agony_ _burning_ _burning_ _burning_ _pain_—

She let out a small wail, curling up inside another ball once more, gripping her hair as she closed her eyes, her breathing coming in shallow breaths as she fought back these memories. Instantly, Adrian was at his sister's side, protectively touching her back while she squeezed her eyes shut against the memories. She was gripping her hair so fiercely that it seemed like she wanted to tear it out, her eyes suddenly shooting open and alight with pure fear and pain.

"Raiyne?" Professor W said gently, reaching out for the girl.

"NO!" she shrieked, not really realizing where she was anymore. She was stuck in the past, her eyes not seeing her friends in the room around her, or the kindly professor in front of her—she was back in that cage, back in that dark cage, reliving the torture that she had nearly ten years ago. Torture which she had never truly been able to get over, because she had been permanently scarred with it forever. Every time she looked in a mirror, she was reminded that she had been taken away and had endured agony at the hands of two evil, whack-job scientists, not caring that she was a kid, just experimenting on her because she was a goddamn _freak_ of _nature_.

She suddenly started to cry out, gripping her hair even tighter between her agitated fingers, her eyes glazed over with her pain as she screamed sounds that didn't form words. Instantly, all the other kids in the room tried to help her, but Adrian sat protectively near her, shielding her from the others.

"We just want to help, Adrian," Sonic tried to say gently to Raiyne's brother.

"There's not a single damn thing that you can do to help her," Adrian nearly snarled at him, glaring fiercely at them all, being protective of his little sister. People shouldn't be so nosey about Raiyne's past, and he always got protective of her when others tried to butt in on their business.

"Adrian, they mean no harm," the Professor said reassuringly to the eldest boy in the room. Adrian glared fiercely at the man, and the mind-reader was able to see that there was self-loathing in those eyes. He probably hated himself because he wasn't able to save his sister before she endured pain and torture.

"It's not your fault," Professor Wayne told Adrian quietly, looking at him with slight understanding.

Adrian sent him a hopeless look that portrayed just how much he wished to take this pain away from Raiyne, before going right back to trying to comfort her as he gently placed his hand on her back.

"NO! NONONONONO!" Raiyne continued to shriek inconsolably. No matter what anyone else tried to do, she wasn't able to snap out of it, not even when her brother tried to comfort her. She was stuck in the past.

"_Stay_ _STILL,_ _you_ _little_ _BITCH!"_ _a_ _robot_ _with_ _an_ _extreme_ _attitude_ _problem_ _yelled_ _at_ _her._

"_NO!"_ _Raiyne_ _shrieked,_ _struggling_ _against_ _the_ _arms_ _of_ _the_ _two_ _other_ _robots_ _that_ _were_ _holding_ _her_ _in_ _place,_ _preventing_ _her_ _from_ _leaving_ _the_ _cage,_ _and_ _allowing_ _them_ _to_ _inject_ _the_ _needle_ _inside_ _of_ _her_ _more_ _easily._

_But_ _Raiyne_ _wasn't_ _putting_ _up_ _with_ _this_ _any_ _more._ _She_ _had_ _already_ _seen_ _two_ _other_ _kids—both_ _of_ _them_ _fellow_ _mutants—die_ _horrible_ _and_ _painful_ _deaths._ _They_ _had_ _only_ _been_ a _year_ _older_ _than_ _her,_ _but_ _they_ _had_ _endured_ _the_ _same_ _agony_ _and_ _pain_ _that_ _she_ _had_ _felt._ _And_ _both_ _of_ _them_ _were_ _dead_ _when_ _too_ _many_ _experiments_ _were_ _performed_ _on_ _them,_ _overloading_ _their_ _senses_ _and_ _making_ _their_ _systems_ _turn_ _against_ _them._ _Now_, _it_ _was_ _only_ _her_ _and_ a _little_ _boy_ _who_ _was_ _five_ _years_ _old_ _that_ _these_ _mysterious_ _capturers_ _had_ _in_ _their_ _possession._

"_LET_ _ME_ _GO!"_ _she_ _screamed,_ _kicking_ _and_ _flailing._ _Darkness_ _began_ _to_ _swarm_ _her_ _being,_ _twirling_ _around_ _her_ _and_ _trying_ _to_ _hide_ _her,_ _trying_ _to_ _help_ _her_ _escape._

"_Hold_ _her_ _down!"_ _the_ _robot_ _yelled_ _to_ _its_ _two_ _comrades,_ _lunging_ _for_ _her_ _with_ _the_ _needle_ _that_ _was_ _filled_ _with_ _green_ _fluid._

_She_ _let_ _out_ _another_ _shriek_ _as_ _she_ _fought_ _back_ _their_ _cold,_ _metal_ _hands_ _on_ _her_ _skin._ _She_ _wouldn't_ _let_ _them_ _inject_ _another_ _poison_ _into_ _her!_

_That_ _was_ _when_ _it_ _happened._ _The_ _robot_ _with_ _the_ _needle_ _in_ _its_ _hands_ _lunged_ _for_ _her._ _She_ _continued_ _to_ _writhe_ _in_ _the_ _other_ _robots'_ _grips_ _and_ _managed_ _to_ _trip_ _the_ _one_ _that_ _was_ _trying_ _to_ _place_ _the_ _needle_ _in_ _her._

_And_ _instead_ _of_ _landing_ _in_ _her_ _arm,_ _the_ _sharp_ _tip_ _of_ _the_ _needle_ _scraped_ _her_ _closed_ _right_ _eye._

_She_ _screamed,_ _this_ _time_ _the_ _screams_ _coming_ _from_ _pain_ _now._

_Fire_ _burning_ _fiercely_ _in_ _a_ _furnace._ _Acid_ _eating_ _her_ _skin_ _away._ _Ice_ _so_ _cold_ _that_ _it_ _was_ _burning_ _her_ _inside_ _and_ _out._

_Those_ _were_ _all_ _understatements_ _to_ _the_ _agony_ _that_ _she_ _was_ _experiencing_ _at_ _that_ _very_ _moment._

_She_ _collapsed_ _on_ _the_ _cold,_ _metal_ _floor,_ _gripping_ _her_ _right_ _eye_ _as_ _she_ _screamed_ _and_ _screamed_ _and_ _screamed,_ _tears_ _pouring_ _out_ _from_ _her_ _eyes_ _in_ _her_ _pain._ _Her_ _sensitive_ _eye_ _reacted_ _terribly_ _with_ _what_ _they_ _were_ _going_ _to_ _place_ _inside_ _of_ _her_ _system,_ _and_ _she_ _shrieked_ _in_ _pain._ _The_ _needle_ _had_ _just_ _barely_ _scraped_ _through_ _her_ _eyelid_ _and_ _touched_ _the_ _delicate_ _cornea_ _that_ _protected_ _her_ _pupil_ _and_ _iris,_ _managing_ _to_ _actually_ _lightly_ _scrape_ _her_ _iris._

_How_ _she_ _had_ _not_ _gotten_ _blind_ _in_ _her_ _right_ _eye,_ _she_ _had_ _no_ _idea._

_Suddenly,_ _she_ _heard_ _two_ _pairs_ _of_ _footsteps_ _coming_ _towards_ _her_ _through_ _her_ _agony,_ _but_ _she_ _didn't_ _care._ _She_ _continued_ _to_ _scream_ _as_ _she_ _cried_ _and_ _cried_ _and_ _shrieked._ _Her_ _red_ _blood_ _was_ _pooling_ _around_ _her_ _eye,_ _and_ _the_ _little_ _boy—his_ _name_ _had_ _been_ _Adam—was_ _screaming_ _as_ _well._ _She_ _didn't_ _know_ _if_ _it_ _was_ _from_ _crying_ _or_ _from_ _pure_ _fear_ _at_ _seeing_ _her_ _agony._

"_Well,_ _I_ _see_ _that_ _this_ _fiery_ _little_ _girl_ _has_ _been_ _tamed,"_ _a_ _disgusting_ _voice_ _cackled_ _from_ _above_ _her._ _It_ _sounded_ _evil_ _and_ _slightly_ _off,_ _as_ _if_ _the_ _owner_ _was_ _slightly_ _insane._

"_Now,_ _you_ _won't_ _be_ _so_ _opposed_ _to_ _what_ _happens_ _when_ _we_ _do_ _our_ _little_ _experiments,_ _now_ _will_ _you,_ _knowing_ _what_ _may_ _happen_ _if_ _you_ _struggle?"_ _another_ _voice_ _said._ _This_ _one_ _sounded_ _very_ _much_ _like_ _the_ _one_ _that_ _had_ _first_ _spoken,_ _but_ _seemed_ _the_ _slightest_ _bit_ _darker,_ _the_ _tiniest_ _bit_ _more_ _insane_ _and_ _crazy_ _and_ _evil._

"_Who…who_ _are_ _you?"_ _Adam_ _squeaked_ _out,_ _and_ _Raiyne_ _tried_ _to_ _look_ _at_ _him,_ _but_ _she_ _was_ _unable_ _to_ _look_ _at_ _anything_ _or_ _even_ _more_ _her_ _body,_ _unable_ _to_ _do_ _anything_ _but_ _scream_ _and_ _cry_ _and_ _wail_ _in_ _her_ _pain._

"_We're_ _the_ _ones_ _who've_ _been_ _doing_ _experiments_ _on_ _you_, _little_ _boy_," _the_ _first_ _voice_ _snickered_ _sinisterly_. "_And_ _now_, _this_ _little_ _girl_ _will_ _never_ _forget_ _us_."

"_You'll_ _never_ _forget_ _our_ _names,_ _will_ _you?_ _You_ _shall_ _always_ _remember_ _the_ _names_ _of_ _Ivo_ _Robotnik_ _and_ _Nega_ _Robotnik,"_ _the_ _second_ _voice_ _cackled_ _evilly._

"_Or,_ _as_ _we_ _are_ _sometimes_ _dubbed_ _as,_ _the_ _Eggmen._ _Eggman_ _and_ _Eggman_ _Nega,"_ _the_ _first_ _voice_ _added._ _"And,_ _now_ _that_ _you_ _know_ _about_ _us,_ _we'll_ _be_ _spending_ _PLENTY_ _of_ _more_ _time_ _with_ _you_ _two."_

That had been the day that she had gotten her scar, and had also been the day that she had found out who were the ones who were torturing her like this. Poor little Adam had died not to long after that, and she was, unexplainably, the only one to survive. Maybe it was because she was the only one who had a sibling who would stop at nothing to save her. She had no idea. She had no idea about a lot of things.

"Raiyne, it's all right, I'm here," Adrian said soothingly.

Her reply was a scream as she squeezed her mismatched eyes shut, tears leaking out uncontrollably as she remembered with surprisingly clarity all of the pain and blood and agony and burning and fire and blood and blood and more blood and death and screams and more crimson blood and fear and death and pain and crying and burning pain—

"She's inconsolable," Adrian whispered quietly. "Crap, I don't think I'll be able to get through to her."

"Raiyne, you're not there anymore," Professor W said comfortingly. Unwillingly, he had been granted free access to her mind—she had absolutely no control over it now, and he had unintentionally seen what she had gone through. Her reactions were understandable in the circumstances that she had been in. His eyes then flickered to the door, where he heard more frantic thoughts. It could only be one person…

"Raiyne!" a new voice said, and everyone turned around as the door flung open, revealing another teen. He seemed to be around sixteen years old, and had blond hair the color of dark honey, slightly tousled and ending around the middle of his neck in a shaggy, jagged fashion. His hair was greatly streaked with red—and not red when you think of a redhead, but _red_, as in ruby red, a rich, dark crimson color. Very scruffy bangs swept to the left side of his slightly tanned features, which were hard and graceful at the same time. His tanned skin was covered with sculpted and yet wiry muscles. His eyes were an interesting shade of green—it seemed as if they were made up of numerous different types of greens within those eyes, like the ever-changing colors of the leaves on different sections of the trees. Some of his eyes were dark green, while some was yellow-green, and other small sections were grass green, making his eyes look like green, faceted gems in a way. Those green eyes seemed to sometimes hypnotize you in a way that was deemed unbelievable.

He ran over to where Raiyne was damn near hyperventilating, and, surprisingly, Adrian backed away from his sister so that the teenager could go in front of the distraught young woman.

"Who's that?" Khione whispered to the person closest to her—Relta. She hadn't seen this boy before.

"That's Seth," Relta replied, seeming to relax a bit when she saw the boy come in. Seth was gently kneeling in front of Raiyne, gently taking her hands away from her hair and grasping them within his own, trying to warm them up. He closed his eyes, focusing.

"What's he doing?" Khione murmured quietly, seeing that the vicious trembles that had been wracking Raiyne's body slowly, very slowly, become ever-so-slower and less intense.

"Seth has the ability to control emotions," Relta whispered in answer. "He can make you feel much, much calmer, simply by willing it. But it also works both ways. He's also able to sense everyone else's emotions. It's probably why he came bursting in here in the first place, probably feeling Raiyne's emotions."

"Raiyne, it's all right," Seth murmured, as if he hasn't just barged in on them without an announcement whatsoever. His attention was solely focused on the teenager in front of him. "You're not there anymore. You're safe. It's all right," he continued to say soothingly, holding her hands and conveying comforting, soothing emotions within her. "Shhh, it's all right, you're safe now, you're not there."

Slowly, her rapid breathing began to slow down, and she had stopped her screaming. Her body—which had been trembling viciously—was now just about still, except for the rise and fall of her shoulders as she breathed in and out. Her breathing, which had been rapid before, had now considerably calmed down.

She looked up at Seth, who gave her a small, reassuring smile. In answer, she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and held him close, and, after his eyes widened in surprise, he returned her embrace by wrapping his arms around her waist. Raiyne shut her eyes tightly, burying her forehead against his neck as his power continued to soothe her.

"I'm sorry I came in unannounced. I just felt her emotions, though, and I had to help," Seth said, turning towards the Professor, speaking quietly as to not disturb the girl he was gently holding. Adrian was looking at him carefully, watching Seth. If he made one wrong move…well, let's just say that Adrian wasn't planning on letting Seth move ever again. He knew that Seth was close to Raiyne, but still…

"It's all right, Seth," Professor W warmly replied. "Raiyne said something before about only one other person knowing about her past besides Adrian. Out of pure curiosity, are you that person?"

Seth nodded, and then added for good measure, "Yeah, I am." And he left it at that as Raiyne's breathing evened out, and she let out a slightly shuddering sigh as she continued to cling to his neck, holding onto him for seemingly dear life.

"I'm sorry for bringing that up, Raiyne," the Professor apologized quietly to her.

She sniffed, and managed to get out, "No, it's…it's all right." However, her voice disagreed with her, hoarse and scratchy from the tears she had shed and the screams that had emanated from her throat.

Professor Wayne nodded, and then made a motion with his head towards the door. It was his unspoken permission to let them leave. Adrian and Seth began to leave with Raiyne, who was quickly drying her tears, as they led her to the bathroom so she could wash your face.

"Wait," the Professor said to the other kids in the room, who all turned towards him. The old man's eyes were very serious as he made eye contact with each and every one of them. "Do _not_ tell any of the other students about _anything_ you have heard in this room. This is Raiyne's private secret, which she doesn't want broadcasted to the whole world. We all have them." Quickly, his eyes flickered to Shadow, and then to Blaze, then to Sonic, but so fast that they barely saw the stronger eye contact that he had made with them. "So, please, keep this incident quiet."

All of the teens agreed.

"All right; now, you may go," the Professor told them, and they quickly bid their goodbyes to the elderly man before they left his office.

After they had left, he let out a sigh, rubbing his temples. The reason that he had created the School for the Exceptionally Gifted, he had wanted to create a safe haven for all the mutants out there, like him. A place where they could grow up, away from the discrimination of normal human society, in a warm, nurturing environment where everyone else had the same "problem" as them, to still be able to interact with kids of their age group, and to still be happy. He wanted them to have a place where they were appreciated, where they would excel, where they wouldn't have to worry about their safety.

However, it seemed that the mutants' new home was becoming more dangerous by the second, becoming threatened by an unknown force. Even though Wayne did have a slight hope that these odd children who were being experimented on wouldn't harm them, he seriously doubted that, based on what Raiyne said. What if these new enemies—these _Eggmen_—were somehow building an army to take over the world? Or, even worse, to eradicate the mutants? They learned about some of the other mutants' powers and experimented on them—what was the difference if they knew where the school was located?

All the Professor could do was hope that none of these kids would get hurt, wishing that they would always be safe.

But he had the sinking, disgusting feeling that his wishes _wouldn't_ come true.

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><p>Amy sighed as she sat in her seat in Geometry, absentmindedly tapping her pencil on the black table as she rested her face in her palm, her eyes at half-mast from the boring monologue that her math teacher, Mister Woods, was going on about. His voice was a nasally whine, and it was s annoying, and no important stuff ever came out of his mouth—she learned most of the things from the textbook.<p>

Now, Amy was actually very, very good at match, which was why she was taking Geometry at the age of thirteen. In the Academy for Mutants, you weren't exactly put with your grade level—there was a little test that you took before the school year began, and, based on the results of that test, it decided where to put you, what classes to put you in, and the like. So that was why Amy was taking a sophomore course when she should've only been in the eighth grade.

Class hadn't even officially started yet, but she'd had nothing better to do but to go to her match class. Mister Woods had begun to talk to some of the students in the front row, who looked like they were going to die from boredom. One of the many advantages of being seated all the way in the back, Amy mused, silently thanking whatever deities there were up in the heavens that had allowed her to get the seat furthest in the back of the classroom.

A few moments later, the person who sat next to her arrived, and began walking towards his seat. In this room, there were many black desks that sat two people each, and Mister Woods didn't believe in seat rearrangements. So, they were stuck with their seats for, pretty much, the rest of the year that they had him. Not that Amy exactly minded who she was sitting next to—at least she wasn't sitting next to an idiot who would flirt with her or only copy her answers. Once again, she thanked the high heavens that she wasn't placed next to Jason, who was also in her Geometry class. The poor girl who he was sitting next to was always trying to get away from him, and Amy felt a pang of pity for the poor girl. However, Mister Woods never seemed to notice the girl's discomfort when Jason tried to feel her up or to flirt with her.

"Hey," Amy greeted as the obsidian-and-crimson-haired teen sat down next to her, placing his books down on his desk and throwing his backpack down on the floor.

Shadow returned her greeting with a nod, right before the bell rang. Then, Mister Woods instantly switched from whatever topic he'd been speaking about to the kids in the front and began addressing the whole class as he "taught" the lesson.

"This. Is. Boring," Amy announced five minutes later as she rested her chin on the desk, her arms crossed in front of her mouth so that Mister Woods couldn't see her talking.

Shadow smirked over at her, leaning back in his chair with his arms crossed in their traditional posture. "Agreed," he said. "That stupid bastard can't teach."

"Oh, he _definitely_ can't teach for his _life_," Amy moaned, rolling her pretty green eyes. "I mean, really, the way he's explaining it doesn't make any freaking sense at all! And it's so boring! Hey, you wanna know what I think?"

Shadow turned slightly towards her, raising a black eyebrow in question. Where had her random question come from?

Amy took that as a yes. "Well, I think that Mister Woods' mutation is the ability to bore someone to near death—to torture someone with his boring talking and annoying voice. I think it's very effective."

Shadow actually snickered a bit, shaking his head as he turned to look at her. "I think you might be right," he agreed with her, smirking. "Because he's never shown any inclination towards anything else, I'd guess that was his mutation."

Amy laughed, her green eyes sparkling with mischief. Geometry wasn't so bad, but it was only because Shadow was sitting next to her.

Mostly, people thought Shadow was the most serious person that you could ever meet, and that his sense of humor was practically nonexistent—some people had even wondered if he'd _ever_ laughed. However, they couldn't be more wrong, and Amy only caught glimpses of this when they were in Geometry together.

He wasn't _always_ serious—often, he was rather humorous and came up with a joked. Albeit, it was a sarcastic joke, but still a joke. Also, when he wasn't surrounded and pressured by other people, he actually _smiled_. Not the normal smirks that he sore, but he truly _smiled_. Yes, those, too, were very rare, but they happened nonetheless. Around her, he seemed to allow the shell he had built up around himself, shielding him from the world, to slightly fall down, so that she could take a glimpse of what was under that slightly emotionless, quiet, taciturn teenager, to see the person that he _could_ be, if he let go of his seriousness at times.

Amy often wondered what had caused him to be this way—she was able to tell that he hadn't always been so quiet, so pensive, so…so lonely. Even though he was surrounded by friends, he still seemed lonely. Why?

Mister Woods had given the class the rest of the period to study, because they had a test in two days. Instead, all of the kids had begun to talk, while the gay-in-question (even though Amy was pretty sure that he was gay) simply went to his desk and began to read a book.

Well, now was probably the best time to satiate her curiosity. The other kids wouldn't be able to hear them, since they all were talking so loudly. She hesitated a moment, biting her lip, before she took a deep breath. Shadow turned to look at her, his eyebrow, once again, raised in his silent question.

"Shadow…" She trailed off, looking away, slightly ashamed to meet his intense ruby red eyes. Biting her bottom lip once again, she decided to turn him and just say it.

"Shadow, did something in your past happen to you to make you so quiet, so lonely?" she blurted out.

An eerie silence followed after that, and Amy realized that Shadow had turned away from her, his teeth grinding together a bit as he thought about it.

"Why are you suddenly so _curious_ about my past?" Shadow replied, his voice seeming slightly dangerous, borderline of a snarl as he continued to look away from Amy, so that all she saw was the back of his head.

"Because I think that you're hurting," Amy replied gently. Hearing the sincerity in her tone, and also her reasoning, Shadow turned to face her once more, his eyes slightly wide with his uncertainty and his surprise.

"What?" he asked her, his gaze confused. Amy was surprised that she was actually able to read his ruby red eyes a bit—seeing the agony within his depths, seeing the self-loathing, the hatred, and the pain, the sadness, the grief that were all well-hidden.

"I think that, on the inside, that you're hurting," replied the pink-haired girl, not missing the irony. It was almost like one of those romance novels, where the mysterious boy had a dark, dark secret in his past that he was hiding from everyone else, but then this one girl came along and was able to pry him free from his shell, able to comfort him. She never thought that she'd be able to live one of her romance novels, but, alas, it seemed that she _was_.

"What makes you think that?" Shadow said quietly, looking at her with those eyes, those eyes that seemed haunted and unsure.

"I think I can just…tell," Amy replied honestly. "I mean, I see the way that you treat others at times, especially when we're in groups or when you're with people you don't like…and I realized that it's vastly different than the way that you are here, in Geometry class, when it's only me. I see subtle differences, but then, you sometimes shut me out again, as if you're afraid of something. Shadow…I want to help." After hearing about Raiyne's past, Amy wanted to help anyone else who had hardships as well. Seeing the pure agony and fear in the older girl's eyes, the way that she was inconsolable…she didn't want anyone else to be like that.

Shadow searched her gaze for any ulterior motives. He was no idiot, and knew that many people asked about his past simply to have so ammunition against him and to taunt him, or to annoy him, or simply because of the fact that they were nosy and would blab it to the whole school.

However, he only saw sincerity in her grass-green eyes, her innocence, and the wish that she could help him.

Shadow exhaled from his nose, turning his face slightly away from Amy as he contemplated it. His past, sometimes, seemed to weigh so heavily on his shoulders, wracking him with guilt and grief. He'd only revealed it to three people—Sonic, Blaze, and Rouge. All people who he knew he could trust, and who'd not told anyone else since the time that he'd told them the truth.

And he had the feeling that Amy wouldn't tell either.

But would she pity him? He didn't want pity…did he? He wasn't sure what he wished from anyone anymore. Would she truly care, or would she see him for the monster that he truly was after he told her his story? Would she become afraid of him? Would she feel sorry for him? How would she react?

"Shadow, you don't have to deal with whatever it is by yourself," Amy reassured him softly, her voice gentle, and her hand softly touched his shoulder. This action caused his eyes to flash towards her, and she smiled gently at him. "I want to help you, Shadow, I really do."

Shadow looked ahead for another moment, before he turned back to look at her, finally condescending to her wishes.

"I used to have a rather nice and slightly normal childhood, dare I say it," he began quietly, his eyes seeming to glaze over slightly, as if he wasn't completely seeing Amy anymore. "I lived with my grandfather and older sister, because our parents died when I was very young. My older sister was named Maria, and my grandfather was…Gerald Robotnik."

"Robotnik? Like, the Eggmen that Raiyne mentioned?" Amy asked quietly.

Shadow nodded. "Yes, but Grandpa was related to those two very distantly, and didn't really know them. But enough about that.

"After our parents died, Maria brought us to Grandpa, who, after he had recovered from the grief of losing his daughter, took us in. He took care of us, and all I remembered was living with him. Maria was twelve and I was one when our parents were…were killed."

"Killed?" Amy repeated softly.

"Yes," Shadow replied. "There was a crazy mass murderer who was killing everyone he came across. My parents had gone shopping one day…and all the police found were the severed pieces of their bodies from being brutally killed from that mass murderer. They also said that my father had dialed in the number for nine-one-one…but had never been able to press the call button."

"Oh, Shadow, that's so terrible," Amy whispered, feeling her heart go out to him. He'd never known his parents because they'd been killed by a sick psycho. She couldn't imagine how he felt.

"It wasn't as bad for me as it was for Maria—I'd never known my parents, but Maria did," Shadow continued quietly. "However, she'd taken care of me, along with Grandpa. They were all that I knew, all that I had. Grandpa was a genius, a scientist that was slightly insane, but I still loved him. Even though he was a bit off, I knew that he loved me and Maria, too. I remember he had a round body, and yet he had extremely skinny legs and arms that were _much_ too long for his body and out of proportion, and he had this large gray moustache, and he always wore these goofy, dark glasses. Only once had I seen him without those glasses, and I remember that his eyes were blue. Maria…she loved me with all of her heart. She was so kind, and gentle, and so loving as well. She had pretty blond hair, and she always had a blue headband in her hair…I remember that it wouldn't be able to be any color but blue, and if it wasn't blue, then she wouldn't wear it in her hair. And she also had the bluest eyes that you'd ever see on a person. They were so beautiful, like the clear blue sky on a summer day, or…or as lovely as the ocean. She was so compassionate, and I'd never heard her yell, never heard anger in her voice. I think she was the closest thing to an angel that this would could possibly have.

"I was seven when my mutation came, when I suddenly was able to control the power of Chaos. Even though I was mutated, however, Maria and Grandpa never changed the way that they looked at me, and helped me out when I needed it. They still loved me and cared for me, never judging me by what my mutation sometimes did.

"However, when I went outside…once, something happened. I had accidentally made something blow up on the playground because there was a snotty kid hogging up the swings, saying that only "cool" kids could come, and that I wasn't one of them. He was a spoiled rich brat, that much was obvious, and I quickly lost my temper with that little bastard. I hated his guts. When he continued to taunt me, even though Maria came over and tried to calm me down, I was beyond pissed off. Then, he saw Maria, and Grandpa had been waiting for us on one of the park benches, and he looked at them. The kid then said that the old man was the weirdest looking guy he'd ever seen and seemed to have mental issues, and then he said that Maria was stupid and that she was an idiotic blonde.

"Well, that was when I snapped, and I threw a Chaos Spear at the kid. It didn't kill the little brat, but it kind of destroyed the iron that holds up the swings, making the kid fall on his ass. Then, he began to cry, while the brat's mother called the police to report a monster. Quickly, Maria, Grandpa, and I had left the park, and none of them blamed me.

"What I didn't know was that the mother had gotten a picture of all three of us before we left the park."

Amy had a sinking feeling that she knew where this was going, but she decided to let Shadow tell her. It was his story, after all.

Shadow's eyes glazed over even more when he murmured, "Things seemed to be fine for a little while. But then, when I was eight years old…that was when everything changed."

**-Flashback-**

The sirens in the lab were blaring, causing Gerald Robotnik to look up from his experiments and raise an eyebrow behind his glasses. He placed the test tubes back in their places, making sure that they were covered so that not too much oxygen would interact with them, and then took off his gloves.

He had no idea what was causing the sirens to blare, but he had a very bad feeling about this.

In another part of the great house, Maria was playing a game of good ol' Tetris with her little brother, who was quickly becoming addicted to the game as he stared intently at the screen, determined to beat Maria this time. He knew that he could win! It was so close, and he knew that he could win! The traditional Tetris music continued in the background, while the little boy was getting very, very into the game, his eyes intently watching the screen as he carefully rearranged the sky-blue block…

"Hah!" Shadow exclaimed triumphantly when he managed to make a Tetris—creating four lines at once, causing four lines to appear on Maria's side. Yet, she still hadn't locked out, and had a tiny bit of space left to try something.

"You won't be able to win, Maria!" Shadow taunted.

"Oh, I won't? And who says so?" Maria replied with a grin. However, her mind was working furiously to see what matches she could possibly do next.

"Boo-yah, it's over!" Shadow announced, when Maria made a very bad move, in his opinion.

However, Maria only smirked. "It isn't over until the fat lady sings," she teased him, and, suddenly, made two Tetrises in a row, one after the other when the long sky blue pieces came down. Shadow only gaped in awe, and saw that his own screen had locked out.

"Oh, man!" he muttered in annoyance. "I _always_ lose!"

"No, you don't," Maria reassured him, smiling as she placed a hand on the eight-year-old boy's shoulder. "You actually put up a pretty good fight—I was actually pretty sure that you were going to win!"

At her praise, Shadow visibly brightened. "Really?" he asked.

"Really," the nineteen-year-old replied with a fond smile towards her sibling. Shadow's grin seemed to light up the room as he suddenly threw himself into Maria's arms for a hug, and the lovely young woman laughed as she returned the hug from her little brother.

"I love you, Maria," Shadow told her happily, truthfully, his smile as bright as the sun. Looking at his joyful features, Maria knew that he would definitely become devilishly handsome when he grew up, a heartbreaker among ladies. She couldn't wait to see how handsome he would become.

"I love you, too, Shadow," Maria replied with a gentle smile as she kissed his forehead.

Now, a normal boy of eight years old would probably shun such outward displays of affection as this. However, Shadow was no ordinary eight-year-old boy. After losing his parents, he was grateful for all that he had—a funny Grandpa, and a loving sister—and would never refuse shows of affection towards them. Especially since what that stupid kid had said about them in the playground, along with other people who'd spoken badly about Shadow and his family. He knew that they loved him, and he showed them that he cared for them in return every chance that he got.

Suddenly, however, the lights started flashing red, and both Maria and Shadow were able to hear the loud blaring of the siren over the Tetris music. Both the siblings exchanged a worried look, and Shadow went over to turn off the game, while Maria went over to the wall and took the phone off the wall, dialing the number that she'd had memorized since she was four and had wanted to see her Grandpa's lab.

On the second ring, it picked up.

"Grandpa, what's going on?" Maria asked worriedly, while Shadow went back over to his sister, slightly scared. To give him comfort, she gently drew him close to her body, her arm wrapping around his small, slightly skinny shoulders as his head rested on her waist. Quickly, he hugged her around the waist, while she quickly wrapped her free arm around the back of his shoulders, to secure his hold around her as he buried his head into her stomach, having a strange sense of foreboding and fear.

"Maria, _don't_ leave wherever you are with Shadow!" Gerald replied, his voice panicked. "It's the government! They're looking for him!"

"_What?"_ Maria gasped, her hold on Shadow instinctively tightening. "But…why? How?"

"Remember at the park, when Shadow blew up the swings with his Chaos Spear?" Gerald quickly asked his granddaughter.

"Uh-huh," Maria replied, nodding her head frantically. "Well, what about it?"

"The old lady that was the bratty kid's mother managed to snap a picture of us, and the government's finally found us!" the scientist replied. "They're here for Shadow!"

"Don't worry, Grandpa, I'll keep him safe," Maria promised, running her fingers through her little brother's hair to soothe him. He was hearing the whole conversation in the phone, because he also had a slightly better sense of hearing than normal humans, and he knew that _he_ was the one that the government was after. Maria and Grandpa were in danger…because of _him_.

"Yes, good girl, sweetheart. I love you, and tell Shadow that I love him, too," Gerald said. "No matter what happens—"

"Excuse me," a demanding voice suddenly sounded on the receiving end, someone else than Gerald. It wasn't as loud as Gerald's voice, but it was there nonetheless. Maria's eyes widened and Shadow looked at the phone in confusion.

Gerald, in his lab, turned around to face about twenty armed men, all dressed up in blue suits. The letters G.U.N. adorned their uniforms, and they all wore expressionless masks as they looked at him, and he still tightly held the phone within his grasp. Keeping his wits about him, he quickly hung up the phone so that his grandchildren wouldn't hear.

Maria placed the phone back in its place when she heard that her grandfather had hung up, and her blue eyes were worried. She looked down at her little brother, who was visibly shaking. With fear or rage, she was unable to tell.

"Shadow?" she asked quietly, holding him closer to her.

"They're here because of _me_!" Shadow suddenly yelled. "Grandpa's in danger because of _me_! I have to go help him!"

"Shadow, _no_!" Maria said, holding onto him when he tried to wriggle his way out of her grasp.

"I have to help Grandpa!" Shadow told her fiercely, trying to break out of her grip. He didn't know that the tears were falling down his face until Maria gently knelt down next to him, reaching out her hand to caress his cheek as her thumb gently wiped the tears away. Scared beyond belief, Shadow began to cry as he clung to his sister, while Maria held him tightly to her, knowing that, no matter what, she wouldn't let the government get their hands on her little brother.

Suddenly, the intercom turned on, making the familiar voice of Gerald Robotnik echo throughout the large mansion.

"Maria! Take Shadow and GET OUT OF HERE!" he shouted. "Leave the place while you still can! Shadow, if you can, do Chaos Control to get you and Maria out of here! Don't let them—"

And then, he was suddenly cut off as they both heard a loud _BANG!_ through the intercom, and then the sound of Gerald choking, sounding like he was being strangled or as if he was choking on something. Two more bangs followed after that, and a light _thud_ was heard, before the intercom disconnected for a moment. It then came back on.

"_Shadow_," the voice of the commander of the G.U.N. said harshly, echoing throughout the entire room, "don't think that I won't find you. We'll find you, and then we'll kill you just like we did with your pathetic grandfather here."

Maria's eyes widened, and then filled with tears. "No…they couldn't've killed Grandpa!" she whispered, but, deep within her heart, she knew it was true. Shadow continued to sob into her chest, while Maria held him even tighter, crying her own silent tears at the loss of their grandfather.

But they had to get out. Hastily, Maria wiped at her eyes, trying to hide her tears from Shadow, but he saw them, and refused to let her go.

"Shadow, we have to leave," Maria told him gently, her voice breaking a bit because of her tears. She cleared her throat, trying to speak coherently, but her voice was just barely holding back tears. "We have to get out of here. Can you try to do Chaos Control?"

Shadow took a shaky breath, and then nodded, closing his eyes and trying to focus, to harness the power of Chaos within him. However, his grief was making his power all messed up, but he tried anyway.

"Chaos Control!" he shouted. However, nothing happened, and he desperately tried again. "Chaos Control! Chaos Control! CHAOS CONTROL!"

"Shadow, calm down," Maria said softly, placing both her hands on her brother's naturally tanned cheeks, her own pale hands seeming to be a stark contrast to his lightly tanned, bronze skin. They both were almost polar opposites, night and day, and yet, they both were so close, it was, at times, a bit unbelievable. How two people, so different, could be so close.

"Take deep breaths, Shadow, deep breaths," Maria said soothingly, running her fingers through his black and red hair, her thumb gently wiping away the small tears that had fallen from his eyes once more. "It's gonna be OK, Shadow, I promise."

Shadow nodded again, trembling, and tried Chaos Control again. "CHAOS CONTROL!" he shouted, but, once again, nothing happened.

"Don't force yourself," Maria said quietly, and then stood up, grasping his hand tightly. "Come on, let's go," she said, keeping her voice calm, trying not to show him her true fear.

Suddenly, heavy thuds of people running down the hallways came, and Maria whipped around, eyes wide. She let out a gasp when she saw the doorway fill up with the men who her grandfather had seen, the G.U.N., all who had guns aimed at them.

Shadow instantly hid behind Maria, and she protectively shielded his body with her own as he clung to her leg, his small hand frightfully touching the small of her back as Maria gently placed her hand between his shoulder blades, leaning her body in a slightly protective crouch over her brother.

"Don't move," the Commander said, his voice eerily calm as he stepped forward. Maria's eyes widened as Shadow tried to make himself seem smaller, while she continued to stay in front of him protectively.

"What do you want?" Maria asked dangerously, her voice filled with more venom than Shadow had ever heard her voice be filled with before.

"I think you know what we want, angel," the Commander retorted snidely. "Just hand the kid over, and we'll let you go."

"Why? So that you can kill him like you killed Grandpa?" Maria hissed back, shielding Shadow's body with her own some more. Protectiveness suddenly surged in her veins, and she knew that she would _never_ let those bastards get their slimy hands on her brother. She would _die_ before she allowed them to take him away, and even _then_ she still would be fighting.

"The government has decided that it is too dangerous to be left alive, after the little incident that occurred at the playground. There have been many more incidents where that thing is always seen, causing the damage," the Commander answered, his eyes hard and emotionless. "It's too dangerous to be left alive, and the government has asked us to finish the job."

"'_It?'"_ Maria said fiercely, her beautiful blue eyes seeming to harden into chips of blue eyes. "That _'thing'_? My brother is a young boy, and I will _not_ let you take him away from me!"

Another soldier spoke up this time. "No, it's a monster. What happens when the control that you have over it breaks?"

"Never," Maria snarled. "Get away from him. _Now._" Her voice seemed to be dripping acid in her anger. Damn it, how she wished that she had a special power like her little brother, so that she could help out in situations like these. However, she'd never been mutated, and had always remained a normal human. Sometimes, she cursed her normality, and now was one of those times.

"You know, your grandfather was just as stubborn as this, too," the Commander mused aloud, watching her with an odd look in his eye, like a hawk sizing up its prey before it came in for the devastating kill. "In fact, it was his complete resistance and blatant lack of respect that was shown towards us that forced us to kill him."

"You _bastards_," Maria growled, and Shadow's eyes widened to hear her say a word like that. He'd _never_ heard her curse, and he knew that she was absolutely furious. However, he was still experiencing shock, and he whimpered a bit as he continued to hide behind her legs while she began to reassuringly, gently rub his back to comfort him.

"Look, bitch, just hand it over, and we won't _kill_ you," the Commander said, quickly losing his patience. "Give it over to us."

"Over my dead body," Maria retorted scathingly in reply, her eyes seeming to bore holes into the skin of the men.

"My, what a splendid idea! That can easily be arranged, my dear," the Commander said, smirking.

It all happened in one second as he spoke those words, and yet, it seemed to take an eternity. The Commander raised his arm, and, in one fluid motion, pulled the trigger on the pistol.

The next thing that happened was Maria's sudden, choked gasp of pain, and Shadow looked up to see a red stain covering the left side of her shirt.

After that, Maria's body began to slowly fall backwards on the ground, her blond hair falling in front of her shocked blue eyes.

Then, Shadow remembered screaming out her name, running towards her fallen body.

One moment after that, she was coughing out blood, hacking it up as it stained her pale skin.

Next, her hand gently reached up to touch his cheek, and she managed to smile a bit through the blood that was now covering her face.

Quickly, after that, he grasped her hand, clinging onto it as he felt it slowly, oh-so-slowly, colder.

Then, she continued to cough a bit, making eye contact with him, her sky-blue eyes making contact with his ruby red ones.

Then, she opened her mouth to speak.

"I love you, Shadow," she whispered, her voice distorted, before hacking up blood.

Instantly, he answered, "I love you, too, Maria. D-don't leave me! Just don't!"

Right on the heels of that was her reply:

"I'll never leave you, Shadow; I'll always be in your heart."

"Sister…" Shadow whispered right after that.

And then came Maria's heartbreaking words.

"Sayonara…Shadow…"

And then, she let out a sigh, her head falling to the side.

Her hand slowly, slowly, fell down, falling off of his cheek.

She stopped coughing out blood, her eyes falling closed.

Her ragged breathing stilled.

Her heart gave its final, shuddering beat.

And, just like that, Maria was gone.

Dead.

At first, Shadow couldn't believe it. How his older sister had died. She couldn't die. She couldn't! She just…she couldn't! She _couldn't_ leave him! He…he should've protected her! He _could_ have protected her!

"That's what happens when you cross the line," the Commander of the G.U.N. said, blowing on his pistol before he twirled it around his finger. He then looked at Shadow, and said, "Now, it's your turn."

Shadow was crying silent tears, and then, suddenly, he let out an inhumane scream, a shriek of agony that seemed to be like the dying cry of an animal than a sound that could be created by human vocal chords as he threw his head back, screaming and screaming like a wild animal. It was the sound of pure agony, of pure grief and sadness, and the tears burned as they fell in relentless torrents down his cheeks. Even the trained members of the G.U.N. had to wince at the sound.

Suddenly, he fell eerily silent, and the little eight-year-old boy turned his furious ruby-red gaze on the men that were in the room—it seemed to be thirty men.

They _all_ would pay.

"You killed her," Shadow said, his voice a low, threatening growl. Suddenly, a bright, white aura burst around him, whipping his hair all around his face, whipping his clothes against his body, and blowing away everything around him in a two-foot radius, as if he was surrounded by a mini tornado or a hurricane. His red eyes darkened, full of nothing but hatred, as he began to slowly, ever-so-slowly, walk towards the Commander, and to the other men.

The Commander actually began to back up a bit in fright. The eight-year-old boy had such hatred in his eyes, such pure, undulating hatred in those deep, dark, fiery ruby red eyes. The intensity of it was so chilling that waves of fear actually found their way into the Commander's eyes. Quickly, he held out his pistol and aimed a shot for the kid's head, wanting to end this once and for all.

However, the bullet never made contact with Shadow's body, bouncing off some invisible shield that had materialized around the boy. His jaw was clenched in anger as he continued to walk slowly towards the members of the G.U.N., his usually sweet, handsome little face contorted with rage.

The Commander's eyes widened in slight panic, and he began to rapidly fire his pistol at the boy—no, the _demon_ that was heading towards him, slowly, slowly, as if he wanted to take his sweet time getting to the man, as if the little boy knew that he had all the time in the world. Yet, the bullets never made their marks, bouncing off the invisible shield around his small form.

"Holy _shit_," one of the soldiers breathed, his voice panicked. "I'm getting the hell _outta_ here."

"Hold your ground, you coward," the Commander hissed. "You signed up for this job, didn't you?"

Shadow continued to walk towards them, slowly, slowly, seeming like an avenging angel—or, in this case, a creature from the fiery pits of hell sent to give revenge for a wrong.

He stopped right in front of the Commander, not even reaching up to his face. But he didn't need to see his eyes just yet.

Ruthlessly, Shadow plunged his hand into the Commander's chest, his hand easily going through the man's body, as his fingers grabbed the still-beating heart of the Commander, but the beating was slowing down now. It had happened in such a sudden move that no one else had been able to react.

Shadow slowly pulled down, forcing the Commander to make eye-contact with him while the man vomited up blood, covering Shadow's arm with it and staining his own uniform.

"I hate you," Shadow snarled. "I hate you, shithead. I hate you."

Suddenly, raw, complete agony began to emanate from the Commander's heart, and he suddenly opened his mouth in agony as he coughed up blood. He began screaming and writhing in the heartless grip of Shadow as the little boy began to burn away the Commander's very heart, ruthlessly causing as much pain as he possibly could, slowly making the heart disintegrate into a thousand little pieces. Shadow seemed immune to the Commander's screams as his body convulsed in the boy's grip, nothing but shining hatred in his eyes as he also began to crush the man's heart.

"I hope you rot in the deepest pits of hell," Shadow hissed in the Commander's ear. "I hope that you get tortured for the rest of all eternity. I hate you."

Seeing the pure fear in the Commander's eyes filled Shadow with a sudden satisfaction, and Shadow watched coldly as the light dimmed from those eyes, along with the agony that he would keep on feeling until he finally died.

His heart stopped, completely disintegrated. The Commander's eyes stood open, and he slumped lifelessly to the ground, while Shadow quickly removed his hand so that the man crashed to the floor, dead.

He fixed his red glare on the other men in the room, and, instantly, they all tried to flee.

They never stood a chance.

Shadow was too fast, too quick, too strong, and each one he killed in a gruesome way. With one of the men, he brutally ripped his head off from his shoulders; another one, he tore limb from limb; another, he punched completely through the body and caused a painful energy eat him alive; to another, he literally burned the man alive with his power. He continued to kill ruthlessly and as painfully and gruesomely as he possibly could, not even noticing all the blood that was bathing his clothes, how he was completely drenched in their blood, that their blood stained his hands…

He just knew that they had to pay.

Some he killed with his power over Chaos, showing them just what they were dealing with. He relished in their screams of agony, in their screams of pure pain—

_No,_ _Shadow!_ he thought he heard Maria's voice suddenly call out to him. _Don't!_

Suddenly, he began to regain some of his sanity as he looked into the fearful eyes of another man whom he was about to kill. Maria wouldn't want him to do this. Maria wouldn't want him to kill anyone. Maria always wanted peace between everyone, thinking that war was pointless. She never wanted him to become a murderer.

But she wasn't there anymore.

And all because of those _heartless_ _bastards_.

Quickly, his insanity, his hatred, returned, and he ripped out the last man's heart, crushing the life-giving organ within his fist before using his energy to burn it away to ashes. The last one. They all were dead.

He'd killed them.

He felt nothing but cold satisfaction.

And then, he suddenly burst into tears again, before he slowly sank to the floor in exhaustion and passed out, from his emotional torture to the energy it had unknowingly taken him to kill all those men.

And that was how Professor Wayne found Shadow—in the large mansion, after passing the dead body of Gerald Robotnik from the labs. Eventually reaching the room that Maria and Shadow had been in before it had happened. Seeing Maria's dead body on the floor. Seeing the dead G.U.N. agents' hideously decapitated and deformed dead bodies on the ground.

And, in the middle of that circle of dead bodies, had been Shadow, his skin completely coated with their blood, his black and crimson hair matted with their vital crimson liquid, blood on his face, and the stains from his numerous tears littering his cheeks.

**-End Flashback-**

"If it wasn't for Professor Wayne…I'm not sure what would've happened to me," Shadow confessed softly as he looked away from Amy, who had become animated throughout the whole story. She'd gotten all giggly when she heard how Maria and Shadow had played Tetris; her heart had been in her throat when she heard about when Gerald was warning his grandchildren about the G.U.N.; she had let out a gasp when she heard that Maria died, tears forming in her own pretty green eyes; and an unreadable emotion had crossed her face when she had been told that Shadow had ruthlessly killed all the members of the G.U.N.

"After he found me, he took me back here, nursed me back to health," Shadow went on quietly. "I was experiencing slight mental trauma from seeing my sister killed right in front of me, and I was also slightly insane. He saw what happened, and promised not to tell anyone else about what happened in my past, because I don't think anyone would take lightly the fact that I was a murderer. But…but with everyone here, I got better. Hell, Sonic was my first friend. People began to accept me here…but I'd never forget what happened to me when I was eight. It was…" He trailed off, unable to say anything else.

He thought that Amy would hate him now, that she would call him a murderer, because he had killed men without remorse.

Instead of her cursing him, she suddenly wrapped her arms around his neck in a small hug.

To say that Shadow was surprised would be a major understatement as she held onto his neck, her face resting where his neck met his shoulders. Shadow had gone unreasonably stiff while she hugged him.

"Oh, Shadow," she whispered, and he heard…_tears_? She was holding back _tears_?

"I'm so, so, so sorry," Amy told him sincerely, continuing to hold him tighter.

"Don't be sorry for me—I deserved it," Shadow growled out. "I wasn't able to protect them. And I killed. I'm a murderer."

"No, Shadow, you're not," Amy told him quietly. "You were eight years old. You'd just lost the only family that you'd ever known in the same day by the people who wanted to kill you. You saw your sister killed right in front of you. You aren't a murderer—you're just misunderstood, and hurt, and lonely. You're not a monster. You're not a monster at all."

"Amy…" For some unexplainable reason, Shadow felt rare tears begin to build up in his eyes, because he had relived the whole thing within his mind. Gently, his arms came around her as he held her for support, and Amy simply held him, not letting go. Amy struggled to hold to hold it together, knowing that she had to stay strong for him. But she nearly started crying when she felt one of his single, hot tears hit the side of her neck.

Shadow never cried. People sometimes doubted that he even had tears ducts.

But he was crying now. Crying silent tears of hopelessness, of self-loathing, of losing his sister.

"I don't think you're a monster, Shadow. You aren't," Amy reassured him as she held onto him tighter, giving him comfort in the only way that she really knew how to—by giving a hug. A hug could, sometimes, be all a person needed. A hug, and someone there to comfort them.

Once again, Amy was glad that they had seats in the back—no one had noticed their conversation, which was good. However, Amy had the slight feeling that Shadow had done something, and was still doing something. With his powers over Chaos, he could make the real Shadow and Amy disappear, but make copies that seemed like they were doing something. She had a suspicion that it was what he'd done now.

Shadow wasn't able to say anything, simply getting over the mere shock that Amy didn't view him as a monster. Then again, he'd received similar reactions from Blaze and Rouge when he told them the story, with the hugging and everything. Sonic hadn't hugged him, of course, but put his hand on his friend's shoulder comfortingly while Shadow had revealed his past.

The two stood like that for the rest of the class, until the bell rang. Amy slowly let go of Shadow, and he gently removed his arms from her.

"Amy…thank you," Shadow said quietly, his voice so soft that Amy had to strain to hear him. Those two words leaving from his mouth were so rare that she knew that she'd helped him immensely.

She smiled in reply. "You're welcome, Shadow. See you later?"

Shadow nodded.

"OK, then. And I was glad to help, Shadow." And, with that, she began walking towards her next class, glancing at him one last time with her pretty green eyes before she disappeared as she went down a different hallway.

As she left, Shadow suddenly realized something. The burden that he'd been unconsciously carrying on his shoulders, the burden of his past, seemed lightened. Easier to bear. Not as heavy and painful like it normally was.

And it was all thanks to Amy's kindness.

* * *

><p>…<strong>OK, I know this is a REALLY late update, but inspiration is a bitch. It can bite you in the butt one time, and then abandon you the next. That's exactly what happened to me when I began this chapter. I began…and then I went blank, and tried to write more, but was unable to, until today, when I suddenly wrote most of this chapter. Yeah, inspiration really IS a bitch, lemme tell ya.<strong>

**Anyways, what'd you guys think of this chappie? I noticed that this one's actually pretty dark overall…should I bump up the rating? I'm not exactly sure, but it's getting pretty dark at times. But it had a kinda happy ending for Shadow and Amy! I mean, I decided to make them a couple in this story, so I had to start their relationship SOMEWHERE, and I felt that this would be the perfect time! (Actually, no, my genius mind suddenly came up with that random idea today after getting slapped by the want of the Plot Fairy and Inspiration Fairy).**

**And, whoa, I don't know where all that dark stuff came from…sorry if it was a bit too much for some people, I'm really sorry. But I was suddenly in a very dark mood, I honestly have no idea where this all is coming from…0_0. But, for some reason, I really liked it, I'm pretty proud of this chapter. Not trying to sound conceited, but I do. It's really weird…**

**Anyways, guys, please review! Leave me your thoughts, they really make my day! Thanks! XD**


	5. Darkness Within

**Alright, everyone! So, here's the next installment—hope ya enjoy! And thank you so much for your encouraging reviews even though the last chappie was a dark one…I'm not sure how this one'll turn out, but we'll se how it goes, kay? My genius mind is probably gonna screw this all up though…**

**Disclaimer: Really? Do I HAVE to do one EVERY chapter? What's so hard to understand? I. Do. Not. Own. Sonic. The. Hedgehog. Wish I did. But I don't.**

* * *

><p>If there was one thing that Knuckles absolutely hated, it was Rouge calling him that damned nickname that she had "affectionately" dubbed for him ever since the first moment that she had heard his name, refusing to stop antagonizing him with it.<p>

'Knuckie.'

Oh, how he loathed that nickname. It was a completely irrational hate, he was slightly conscious of that fact, but the way that she always used it to jeer at him or taunt him always pissed him off. Triumph or sarcasm or teasing always laced her tone whenever she called him that name, knowing that he didn't really have any other nicknames for her, unless you counted "bitch" and "bat-girl", which Rouge honestly didn't. She always allowed his insulting names to easily roll off of her in favor of turning the tide of the battle, insulting him. And, whenever she called him that infuriating nickname, she always won, no matter what. He could've called her the worst names in the universe, but if she called him "Knuckie", then, in his mind, he automatically lost, because he had to recover from the utter hatred of that name and complete shock and shame of hearing himself being called that before spewing back a response. However, since it always made him falter, he was silently deemed the loser.

As such, Rouge often won their little "verbal spars", because she always had that name in her arsenal.

Currently, the school day was over, and Knuckles' cheeks were a furious red that clearly matched the color of his hair from his blushing as he ran down the hallways, shouting foul obscenities at the white-haired girl who was easily gliding out from his reach, her pretty black bat's wings helping her stay just above him so that he couldn't catch her. She laughed as she continued to fly away from him.

If there was another thing that the hotheaded teen hated, it was when Rouge flirted with him. She had quite the impressive figure for a woman, and she knew it, too. It was what made her so dangerous, and was currently the reason that Knuckles was chasing her down the hallways in a rage.

During their last class, right before the bell had rung, Rouge had taunted Knuckles as they had one of their daily non-serious fights. Every day they had a fight in their history class, but none of them really meant what they said to the others—the fighting was more of something simply fun and entertaining for them during the utter boredom known as World History. However, after a certain comment from Rouge about how Knuckles wasn't treating her like a lady, to which he bit in reply that it was often difficult to tell whether she was a lady or not, she'd come back easily. She'd easily assessed a seductive pose, giving him a peek at her impressive cleavage as she dropped her eyes, and, just like that, the ball had quickly been in her court. Teasingly, she asked him if he was completely sure that she wasn't a lady, and had been in a position that completely emphasized her feminine figure. Knuckles had been totally out of his league, unsure of what to do in this situation as she had begun to slowly inch closer.

Just like that, the bell had rung, saving him from probably the most embarrassing moments of his life. His cheeks were flaming fiercely, and he let out a relieved sigh as he thought, _Saved_ _by_ _the_ _bell._

However, Rouge had other ideas. Right before she left the classroom, she quickly leant in and pecked Knuckles on the cheek, making contact with his skin for a millisecond before she had pulled away and winked at him, saying, "See ya around, Knuckie."

Knuckles had been left in complete and utter shock after Rouge's kiss on his cheek, and, for a moment, all his fuzzy brain could remember was the chaste kiss that she'd placed upon his face. Her lips had felt so soft and full and plump against his hardened cheek, her lip gloss leaving a slight residue, and her eyelashes had gently brushed his face, feeling like butterfly's wings, their length enhanced by the mascara that she always wore. He was only able to think a series of scrambled thoughts after that.

Rouge. Had. Just. Kissed. His. Cheek.

Holy. Shit.

It was then that it had clicked, as Rouge began running away from him, laughing after she coyly winked at him. It was then that he had regained his bearings, and instantly, the red on his cheeks growing even deeper than before, in both his embarrassment and rage.

"_**ROUGE!"**_ he had instantly shouted, hearing the witch's laughter in front of him as she quickly flew away from him.

That was the scene that all the other kids saw in the hallways—a furiously blushing redhead chasing a white-haired bat-girl who was flying just out of his reach, taunting him as she laughed. Many kids were smiling now, used to the familiar banter between the two teens—some of them were wondering when they would finally stop avoiding each other and finally get together as an official couple. Of course, if that was ever said to either of their faces, they would instantly deny it because of their naturally stubborn natures, but everyone was able to see it—the chemistry between them was obvious.

"Aww, Knuckie, you look so _cute_ when you blush like that!" Rouge teased him, snickering as she soared just above his reach.

"AAAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHH!" Knuckles shouted in irritation, shaking his fist towards her. "SHUT UP, YOU STUPID BAT! I HATE YOU! COME BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!"

"Aw, love ya, too, Knuckie!" Rouge taunted, flirtatiously winking at him before blowing him a kiss.

Once again, Knuckles was completely dumbstruck, his cheeks somehow becoming an even deeper shade of red than before, if possible, with his embarrassment at the whole situation. It was all the time Rouge needed to glide out of the building, laughing, while Knuckles regained his bearings. The moment he did, he let out another holler of no words as he chased her outside in his fury.

Once Knuckles was gone, all of the kids promptly began to crack up in the hallways. Their fights were rather entertaining, often putting the other kids in brighter spirits, even though it was often at the expense of Knuckles' embarrassment. Even if you were having a really bad day, watching one fight between the two immature sixteen-year-olds would always put someone in a brighter mood.

Sonic and Blaze, who had simply been walking away from their shared chemistry class—their last class that day—and had been absentmindedly talking to each other as they went to meet their other friends, they had run into the two hot-headed teens, the oldest in their little group. They had been walking back into the main building when Rouge had flown out, laughing, followed by Knuckles shouting foul obscenities at her and calling her names.

"What'd you do to him _this_ time, Rouge?" Sonic called up to the white-haired girl, who stopped flying away and was using her bat wings to allow her to momentarily hover in the air for a little bit. She was grinning cheekily, her turquoise eyes sparkling.

"Why don't you ask him?" she replied. "He sure seemed to enjoy it!"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!" Knuckles roared, shaking his fist up at her in his agitation as he stood near Sonic and Rouge.

"Jeez, Red, you overreact too much. What'd she do?" Sonic asked his friend.

Knuckles turned his furious violet gaze to the speedy cobalt-haired teenager's green eyes. "_First_, she _flirted_ with me during class—"

"Come on, you have to have expected _that_," Sonic interrupted with an internal roll of his eyes. "Rouge flirts with _all_ the guys to get her way."

"—and _then_," Knuckles continued to rant, as if he hadn't been interrupted, "she freaking _kissed_ me on the _cheek_! And _then_ she called me '_Knuckie_!'"

"Aw, come on, Knuckie, you know that you liked it!" Rouge called down with another playful, flirtatious wink aimed at the red-headed teen. "And I wouldn't mind giving you another one, if ya wanted!" She then laughed as his cheeks somehow reddened even _more_ as he struggled with his immense embarrassment, giving her enough time to continue to glide away from that spot.

When he managed to recover the slightest bit, he let out another wordless shout before screaming, "THAT IS _IT_! I SWEAR, I'M GOING TO…TO…_ARRRRRRGH_!" This was accompanied with a hand motion that vaguely looked like he wanted to break someone's bones. It was then that he continued to chase Rouge around the other buildings in the large area of the Academy while she always glided just out of his reach.

When the two left, Sonic simply looked at Blaze. The lavender-haired teen was smiling a bit, her golden eyes sparkling with humor, and Sonic was struggling to hold back his laughter.

With a completely serious face, he said, "You know, I thought that, with everything that goes on between those two, that the kiss on the cheek wouldn't be that big a deal. I mean, remember the time that she groped his ass?"

_That_ made Blaze laugh—the serious tone that Sonic was using, the way that he casually referenced back to that incident, and what had just happened a few seconds ago. Sonic also began to laugh, unable to maintain a serious face anymore as he gave way into laughter, remembering Knuckles' reaction when Rouge had gone as far as to grope his chiseled buttocks once.

Needless to say, Knuckles had _completely_ flipped out when that had happened.

It was honestly a miracle that Rouge was still alive after that little incident.

"It makes you wonder if those two will ever grow up," Blaze said with a smile, shaking her head. "They're older than us, but I think that Cosmo and Tails are more mature than them. If you think about it, that's really embarrassing."

"Sixteen-year-olds being showed up by a nine- and ten-year-old in maturity. Ouch," Sonic said, pretending to wince, causing Blaze to laugh again at his silliness. One thing about Sonic was that, no matter how serious a situation was, he'd always manage to somehow find humor in that situation. Rarely did he ever take anything seriously—but, when he did, you knew that it was something major. And, even then, he managed to somehow incorporate humor into it. Sonic's jovial personality was something that everyone else in the Academy always gratefully accepted and was one of the many things that brought life to their home.

"Don't act as if you aren't just as immature as they are, Sonic," Blaze chided him, giving him a pointed look. "Who's the one that always runs away when a thirteen-year-old girl who has a major crush on him begins to run after him?

"No, it's not a crush—it's _obsession_!" he corrected her in a hushed voice, as if he was afraid that the pink-haired girl was somewhere around there and that she'd hear what he said about her.

"No, it's not; don't say that," Blaze reprimanded him, but the small smile on her face showed that she was hiding her laughter at what he said.

"Yes, it is," Sonic retorted, his emerald gaze still darting around the room, afraid that Amy would overhear him. "Do you _see_ what she does to me?"

"It's not nearly as bad as what Rouge does to Knuckles—has Amy ever tried to flirt with you? Or grope you? Or kissed your cheek?" she replied as she listed only a few of the things that the bat-girl had done to the incredibly strong mutant.

When Sonic didn't reply, she wore a lightly smug smile on her face. "I thought so."

"But still!" he said, just arguing now for the sake of arguing. "She is _scary_ and _obsessed_!"

"No, she—oh, listen to me," Blaze said with a slightly annoyed sigh, shaking her head. "I can't believe that I'm seriously arguing with you over this! It's making no sense and is over the most trivial thing!"

"It makes perfect sense to me," Sonic said with a cheeky grin.

"You're impossible," Blaze said, throwing one of her hands up in defeat, the other one still holding onto her binder. However, the smallest flicker of a smile threatened to break through onto her lips. One could never stay annoyed at Sonic for long, no matter how hard they tried.

"What was your first clue?" he replied with another trademark grin.

She couldn't help but laugh. "Take your idiocy and go away," she laughed, her golden eyes sparkling. "I'm not sure if your stupidity is infectious." Her tone showed that she didn't mean it in the least, laughing.

Grinning, Sonic did a mock-bow. "As you wish, Your Highness."

However, the moment that he said the words, he instantly regretted them, wishing that he could reverse time and force himself not to say them, or to pluck them back from the air and stuff them back down his throat.

But the damage was done.

Blaze's laughter abruptly stopped, and pain came into her golden eyes as she looked away from him as the memories suddenly returned to her mind with a vengeance. She struggled to maintain her composure, her breathing speeding up the slightest bit as she gently shook her head.

"Blaze, I'm sorry," Sonic instantly said, reaching out to gently touch her shoulder.

She jerked at the contact, whirling around with a livid hiss as her golden gaze burned with fire. However, she wasn't seeing Sonic at the moment, but seeing the terrible monster that had hurt her all those years ago.

**-Flashback-**

It was true—Blaze was royalty, the last princess of a kingdom far away from everywhere else. Only those who knew where the kingdom was could find it.

It had been called the Kingdom of Sol.

The Kingdom of Sol was relatively small—however, it was a good, nurturing place, with gentle rulers and people who eagerly obeyed their king and queen. Blaze's parents, King Justin and Queen Esmeralda, had both been just, kind rulers, loved by the people. When Blaze, the princess next in line for the Kingdom of Sol was born, the people rejoiced, as did the king and queen, overjoyed to have a daughter.

She'd grown up under the gentle, tender care of her parents, who loved her with all of their hearts. She'd been a happy little girl, boundless in her energy, and was very kind to all of the people. In return, the people loved her dearly, proud to call that little girl their princess, the future ruler of their kingdom. The people protected her and loved her as well.

Blaze learned quite a bit about being a princess form both of her parents. Her father, King Justin, had taught her the more boyish things, such as teaching her some basic hand-to-hand combat, and also teaching her how to wield a blade, a dagger, and how to shoot a bow and arrow. She'd been very strong for a young girl, and he'd seized the opportunity to teach her those things—how to fight and how to hunt. She remembered exactly how he looked—his bright blue eyes would shine with his kindness, and his lavender hair was always the slightest bit messy. He'd always been unable to tame his hair, something that her mother had often reprimanded him about. She loved her father dearly, and he'd always somehow find a way to spend time with her whenever he could. He was tall, and often, when he took her outside, to the gardens and such, he'd let her rest on his broad shoulders while her mother walked beside them, gently holding her daughter's hand as the three royals spent time together as a family.

Her mother had taught her the more polite things about being a princess, about etiquette and gentility. Her mother had been absolutely beautiful, with fair, pale skin, flaming red hair that cascaded in lovely waves down her back, and beautiful golden eyes, the eyes that she'd passed down to her daughter. She was gentle and kind, as delicate and lovely as a flower, always caring for the people and going out to help them in whatever way she could. Blaze often went with her mother to the orphanage and to visit the elderly and sick, and she always helped the queen. She'd also been taught most of her teachings from the queen as well, who didn't want the princess being schooled by boring tutors. Blaze had always loved and admired her mother, wanting to be just as graceful, beautiful, and kind as Queen Esmeralda when she grew up.

It seemed that things could never get better, pure happiness radiating from their small but good kingdom.

But there was something dark and sinister that Blaze had always been oblivious about, until she was seven years old.

An old kingdom had always had a rivalry with the Kingdom of Sol—it was called the Kingdom of Oscuro. The king of the Kingdom of Oscuro, Thanatos, had always hated the rulers of the magnificent place of Sol. In a battle waged by Thanatos over territory that rightfully belonged to Sol, the king's only son, Lucifer, had been slaughtered by King Justin himself. Of course, Justin felt remorse, but war was war, and Thanatos had been the one to wage it.

Unbeknownst to the rulers of Sol, Thanatos had slunk into the shadows to look up the perfect opportunity for revenge. And when he finally found out that there was a princess to the sheltered kingdom, he knew exactly what he could do. Even though the Kingdom of Oscuro eventually crumbled, there was still a king and many loyal followers. Though, the Kingdom of Oscuro resembled a mad mob more than a kingdom anymore because of its corrupt and slightly insane ruler.

It had started with the killings of some of King Justin's most loyal guards, slaughtered mercilessly in the middle of the night in their own beds. After the captain of the guard had been slain, Justin and Esmeralda had both begun to fear for the worst, and had suddenly begun taking precautions to protecting their daughter—such as not allowing her to be away from the castle at certain hours, and, if she did leave, to always have a guard with her. Often, she took her favorite guard, Gardon, with her when she went outside—he was like a grandfather to her, with gray hair, a white beard, and warm, sparkling brown eyes that held laughter, with smile lines on the corners of his eyes. He was always her favorite guard out of all of them.

However, even though the princess was protected, Thanatos and his people were continuing to strike, this time killing villagers as well as guards, slowly beginning to kill more people at a time, adding more corpses to the pile. When Blaze sometimes saw the fear on her parents' faces when the news was brought that more people were dead, she had become scared, and, once, asked them to tell her what was going on. They'd then told her their suspicions about what was happening, making Blaze worry for her parents' safety and for her own—suddenly, their over-protectiveness made sense.

"Don't fret, dear one," her mother had said quietly, gently brushing back some strands of her daughter's lilac hair, which she had inherited from her father. "Everything will soon be all right."

"But, Mother…I'm scared," Blaze whispered, reaching out to the queen. Queen Esmeralda received the little girl's hug, holding the young seven-year-old close to her as she rubbed her back reassuringly.

Blaze then felt a strong, firm hand gently rest on her shoulder, before reaching around to also hug her gently with one arm, the other arm around her mother. "It'll be all right, my little princess," King Justin said gently, kissing his daughter's forehead. "Like your mother said, everything will be fine, child. And isn't your mother always right?"

"Oh, shush, you," Esmeralda had said, smiling at her husband as she lightly tapped his shoulder while he smirked at her. Blaze, seeing the familiar and yet loving banter between her parents, couldn't help but laugh, already put more at ease.

And then that moment of temporary peace ended.

That very night, cries of agony were heard all around the castle, dying cries, as well as barbaric shouts of triumph. And then, a shout rang out through the halls of the palace.

"THEY'RE HEADED TOWARDS YOU!" a soldier cried out, struggling to speak through the blood that he was coughing up from his wounds. "YOUR HIGHNESSES, THEY'RE CO—" Then, he was cut off by an odd gurgling sound as a man ruthlessly slit his throat, and the soldier fell back in a pool of his own blood, his green eyes glazing over as the last breath left his body.

The king and queen, who had been woken up by the racket, instantly got out of bed at the cryptic message left by the soldier. Esmeralda knew that she had to go to their daughter, while Justin had to go out and protect his people. Not knowing if this was the last time that she'd see her husband, Esmeralda quickly wrapped her arms around the king and kissed him. Justin didn't resist, pulling his wife closer to him, his queen, as they kissed a kiss of desperation, and the tiniest sliver of hope that they would be all right.

"I love you," Esmeralda breathed the moment that they pulled away from each other, her beautiful golden eyes shining with her love.

"And I you, my love" Justin murmured, caressing her cheek, running his fingers through her fiery red hair. He kissed her forehead, and couldn't resist from stealing one last kiss from his queen's soft lips, before he gently pulled away. Their hands reached out for each other for a few moments, before Justin turned around, being tossed a sword by Thorn, a loyal guard and close friend to the king. Esmeralda ran towards the direction of the princess' room as well, desperately hoping that this wouldn't be the last time that she saw her husband.

When she arrived at Blaze's bedroom, the little girl was already up, clutching her sheets with a death grip, her own amber eyes wide with her fear.

"Mother, what's going on?" she whispered, before another wail from a dying soldier was heard. She reflexively gasped, gripping her white and gold sheets closer to her in her fear. She recognized that cry. It was Gardon. She felt tears begun to burn her eyes, knowing deep in her heart that he was dead.

The queen ran over to her child, gently taking the girl into her arms soothingly as Blaze clung onto her mother for dear life. Death and fear was what surrounded the air around her, and the smell of smoke as well. The stench of dead bodies being burned filled her nostrils, and, as a seven-year-old girl, she'd been given her first taste of what death and carnage smelled like, sounded like, tasted like, felt like.

"Come, we must go," Esmeralda whispered to Blaze, who winced as another guard let out an anguished cry.

"Where, Mother?" Blaze whispered.

"I don't know, dearest," Esmeralda replied softly, before picking the little girl up. Blaze wrapped her arms around the queen's neck as she allowed her mother to carry her to wherever she thought safe.

It was then that an agonizingly familiar cry of agony sounded, before a shout of pure desperation, sounding distorted and full of pain. "ESMERALDA! YOU HAVE TO RUN! GET YOURSELVES OUT OF HERE! I LOVE Y—"

Then, the voice trailed off into choking gurgles as his cries were cut off, unable to speak now because of his slit throat. And, his mouth forming the words that he was unable to finish sending his wife and only child, King Justin fell down, his lavender hair matted with his blood as the spark of life finally left his eyes and they glazed over with death, his heart giving its last beat before he was gone.

Esmeralda felt the tears begin to burn her eyes, and Blaze began to cry hysterically into her mother's shoulder. She knew. Her father was never coming back. He was gone. Killed. She never even got to say goodbye to him. And he was dead. Protecting her. He'd died protecting them.

"Father's gone," Blaze whimpered, grabbing onto the queen for support as she wailed heartbrokenly. "He's gone."

"He knew what he was doing, love," Esmeralda managed to say through her tears. "He loved us. He loved us so…so much…" Esmeralda fell quiet, giving way to her silent tears as she held the princess for support for both herself and for the little girl. She knew that she had to run. It had been her husband's last request. She just had to leave this place, get their daughter somewhere safe.

It was then that the men, all dressed in black, had suddenly run into the hallway which they were running down. Esmeralda's eyes widened as she began to backtrack, but more soldiers came from behind them. A gasp escaped her throat as she frantically tried to run another way, but she was surrounded by soldiers. Blaze's cries had stopped, and she was now simply clinging to her mother for dear life, her eyes wide and frightened as she looked at the men dressed in black all around her. The men who'd killed her father.

Esmeralda held her daughter closer to her protectively, not letting her go for an instant. The little princess rested her forehead against her mother's neck, not wanting to look at the scary men anymore.

The men suddenly began to part, and the one behind this all was shown as he walked through the people.

"Thanatos," Esmeralda choked out, looking at the man with wide eyes. Nothing but hatred was in that man's cold dark grey eyes, so dark that they seemed almost black but not quite, his naturally silver hair matted with blood, as well as his black clothes. The blood of those he'd killed, and his own blood from his wounds.

"Yes, Esmeralda," he said, and Blaze flinched at his voice. It was like pure, liquid hatred being spoken, hatred and fury given a voice. "You didn't think that I'd let the death of my son go without revenge, did you? The Kingdom of Sol was always so 'respected' and 'good.' And Oscuro? We were hated. Loathed by others that knew about us. In legends, we are always portrayed as terrible, while you were portrayed as strong and 'good.' I thought I'd repay you all by destroying your kingdom, simple as that."

"Please, leave us alone," Esmeralda pleaded. "You've already caused so much death—already killed by husband—hasn't your desire for bloodshed been satiated yet?" Her voice was breaking, and she clung even more tightly to Blaze, who dared to steal a glance at the man who her parents had spoken to her about that very morning. When she did, Thanatos' gaze snapped towards her. The moment that their eyes met, Blaze nervously turned her head back into her mother's neck, scared of this man already.

"Ah, this is your daughter, is it not?" Thanatos said, his voice a drawl of malice. "The little princess that has been talked so much about?"

Esmeralda saw where this was going. "No," she whispered. "Not my daughter. Please, I beg of you, do not hurt my daughter. I beg you, please, have mercy."

"Did your precious husband, your king, have mercy on my son?" Thanatos snarled viciously.

"It was war, Thanatos, that you waged," Esmeralda replied. "This is a massacre. You have only yourself to blame for the death of your son."

This comment only seemed to enrage the former king, and now mob leader, even further. "Take the little princess away," he growled out to the men that followed him. They followed their orders, coming closer to the queen. Instantly, the woman tried to shield her daughter every way possible, holding tightly to her.

"No, please, don't harm her," Esmeralda begged, on the verge of tears as she tried to somehow escape. Blaze was holding even more tightly to her mother in pure fear after hearing the words the men had uttered. "Please, please, _don't_!"

However, her cries fell on deaf ears as the men all used their brute strength to begin to pry the little girl away from her mother. The moment that they did, Blaze suddenly began to scream as they pried her fingers from around the queen's neck, feeling them force her mother's arms away from her back.

"NO!" Blaze shrieked. "LET ME GO! MOTHER! MOTHER! NO! NONONONONONONONONONONONONO!"

"BLAZE!" Esmeralda cried out as the men managed to pin her hands behind her back. Her red hair fell in her face as she desperately struggled against their hold, trying to reach her daughter. "NO! LET ME GO, you COWARDS! LEAVE HER ALONE!"

Thanatos simply grinned sadistically as his men dragged Blaze towards him. The little princess was kicking and shrieking fiercely as she struggled against the hold of the men. No one noticed, but small wisps of smoke were beginning to come from her tiny form. The queen was struggling to get away from the men with just as much vigor as her daughter, desperately, vainly trying to reach the little girl. Both of the females were fighting back, but each was restrained by five or six men, who used their brute force to keep their holds on them.

"MOTHER! MOTHER!" Blaze screamed repeatedly, crying in pure fear.

"BLAZE! LET HER GO! BLAZE!" Esmeralda shrieked as she fiercely tried to get out of their grip.

It was then that Thanatos took out his deadly blade, and, when Blaze was close enough to him, he placed the sword on the delicate skin of her pale throat. Blaze instantly stopped her screaming, her lip trembling, eyes wide as she looked down at the sword that was placed on her neck. Esmeralda's eyes also widened with pure fear for her daughter's life.

"Now, don't struggle, little princess," Thanatos said, his voice deceptively sweet. "I'll make this quick and painless."

"NO! DON'T!" Esmeralda begged. "PLEASE! PLEASE, TAKE ME INSTEAD! DO WHAT YOU WANT WITH ME, BUT LEAVE MY DAUGHTER ALONE! KILL ME IF YOU MUST, BUT PLEASE, DON'T HARM HER! PLEASE!"

Thanatos paused, seeming to consider what the queen was saying. Esmeralda took deep breaths, her eyes begging for him to not slaughter her daughter.

Then, the dark former king smirked, and then said absentmindedly, "Well…since you've just given me free will to do what I want with you…as you wish, Your Highness."

The blade disappeared from Blaze's neck, and, in the next moment, a sudden cry of pain sounded from her mother. It was then that Blaze started to scream and shriek at the men holding her, struggling to reach her mother, as the sword Thanatos was holding plunged right through her heart. The queen began to cough up blood while Thanatos drew his bloodied blade from her body, before she managed to look at her daughter.

She only looked at her daughter, not noticing anything else but the little princess in front of her. Blaze had her father's lavender hair, which was more tamed than his had been, and ended in a slightly darker lavender. Her lightly scruffy bangs hid the ruby red gem naturally inlaid within her forehead, something that had been a bit odd, but had only made her more beautiful to her parents. She had the lips of her mother, everyone said, and the gentle, graceful facial features of her face from her mother. However, she had her father's nose. And his cheekbones, and his bright smile. But her eyes were an exact replica of her mother's, from their shape to their lovely golden color, the exact same eyes.

Esmeralda managed a smile, her lips stained with her own blood. "Daughter…"

And then, she slumped forward, her eyes sliding closed as Death finally took her with its cruel, cold claws.

Blaze's eyes widened, unable to believe it, momentarily forgetting her struggle. And then, she began to shriek viciously, crying and screaming at the same time.

"MOTHER! NO! MOTHER, MOTHER, MOTHER! YOU CAN'T DIE! MOTHER! COME BACK, COME BACK! NO! NOOOOOOOO!"

Her tears blurred her vision, before Thanatos turned to look at her, grinning sadistically. "Now, my dear, it's your turn to meet the same fate." Insanity flickered within his eyes as he wiped his blade clean of blood—her mother's blood—on his pants.

Blaze's cries had stopped, and instead, her small form was shaking with her fury as she locked her golden gaze on him. Her eyes were ignited with fire, her teeth bared in a snarl, her golden eyes furious and filled with tears. A small, animalistic growl escape from her as her body trembled.

"Oh, I got you angry, did I?" Thanatos asked, smirking. "Now you know the pain that I felt, little girl. And now you've learned the hard way that life isn't fair. Deal with it, sweetheart." Then, he looked down, and gave her mother's corpse one last, disgusted kick.

That did it.

With a sudden scream, Blaze's body erupted in flames, covering her being as the fire burned on her skin but didn't burn her in the least. The men who had been holding her let out screams of agony as they were burned to black crisps, before she was free. She glared at Thanatos, her fire angrily licking around her.

Another shriek of no words was drawn from her, and Thanatos' eyes widened as he tried to run away from her, but it was too late. The flames licking around her form managed to get everyone in a twenty-foot radius around her, white-hot in their intensity as she let out another inhumane shriek of pain and agony and loss as the men began to burn. Their own screams resounded through the castle, but were somehow drowned out by the shrieks of agony emitted by Blaze. Thanatos, too, was charred to death. The last thing he saw was the little princess screaming with fire around her—like a demon, a monster. And then, the flames eagerly licked at his skin and devoured him.

Blaze was crying, falling to her knees in her agony, before the flames finally disappeared from around her. Then, when she looked up, her eyes widened as she saw the charred, blackened ashes around her.

Had she…had she killed them?

She looked down at her hands, trembling, when she realized the truth. She'd killed them. She'd killed all of them, leaving nothing but the corpse of her mother completely untouched. She ran over to the dead body of the queen, and then burst into new tears as she cried helplessly, hopelessly, clinging onto the beautiful gold necklace that was her mother's before she'd given it to her for her seventh birthday two months ago.

And now it was all she had left of the beautiful queen.

The little princess stood up, wiping her tears with the back of her hand. It didn't stop them from continuing to flow in rivers as she silently cried over the loss of both of her parents in one day.

She went outside, and then let out another anguished cry.

There was not a living soul left. Thanatos' men had killed everyone—the villagers, the soldiers, her parents—and had left no one. Merciless.

And she'd killed them in return.

She was a monster.

Dazedly, her golden eyes looked at all the corpses, the dead bodies of the people of Sol, _her_ people. She'd failed them. She'd been unable to protect them. Even though she was seven years old, she still knew that she had to protect her people.

And she'd been unable to do that.

She was a monster _and_ a failure.

Blaze couldn't eat or sleep—every time she closed her eyes, the terrible events replayed themselves behind her closed eyelids, and she was unable to sleep because of her grief. When she found her father's body, his glazed blue eyes open, she'd burst into new tears again and gently closed his eyelids, trying not to look at all the blood on his throat, the terrible wounds on his body. She rested her head on his chest and cried and cried and cried and cried until her throat was raw and her eyes itched.

Yet, it seemed that she would never truly run out of tears.

**-End Flashback-**

She'd been near her father's body when Professor Wayne had found her, had taken her back with him to the Academy. There, she'd met a few of the other kids—Sonic, for one, who'd been able to help her from her mental trauma with his naturally jovial attitude, and who also understood her pain. She'd also met Rouge, and the two girls had soon become very good friends. Even Shadow, who came not that long after she arrived, became a bit close with Blaze. Both of them knew what it was like to see someone you love die right in front of you, _for_ you.

Snapping back to the present after that whole terrible ordeal flashed behind her eyes, Blaze let out another snarl, glaring at Sonic. It was then that she realized that he wasn't Thanatos, and that he was trying to speak with her, trying to say something to her, and with great difficulty she forced her flames not to appear on her skin.

"Blaze, I'm sorry," Sonic repeated gently, looking on the floor, ashamed. "I forgot that you don't like being called that."

No one in the Academy knew the full truth of Blaze's heritage. No one but a select few knew she was a princess. And she absolutely _loathed_ being called 'Your Highness.'

Because it was what Thanatos had said before he ruthlessly plunged his sword right through her mother's heart.

_"As you wish, Your Highness."_

Mocking. A term used to taunt, to shame, disrespecting the true royal title that it meant.

And she hated it.

Blaze looked away from Sonic once more, fighting back the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes once more. No. She couldn't cry, she wouldn't cry, because her parents wouldn't have wanted her to mourn their deaths for so long.

But how could she not continue to mourn them? How, when she'd seen her mother killed in front of her, when she found her father's mutilated body on the battlefield that was stained with the blood of her people from the ruthless massacre?

Blaze closed her eyes, taking deep breaths, before opening them once more. Sonic saw the tears threatening to spill from her golden eyes, and he gently reached out, unsure. When she didn't hiss and recoil from him, he gently brushed his thumb under her eyelid, catching a small tear right before it fell, before it would leave a trail on her naturally pale cheek.

"I'm sorry," Sonic repeated yet again, quietly, glad that no one else was really in the hallway that they were in at the moment.

Blaze allowed herself to slightly lean into his palm as his thumb continued to brush away the tiny tears that were slipping from her eye.

"There's nothing to be sorry for," she managed to say, her voice barely even a whisper. If she spoke any louder, she'd lose it.

"I didn't mean to…I shouldn't've said…" Sonic was honestly at a loss at what to say. He knew what she'd gone through—she'd told him herself, with all the pain in the world in her lovely golden gaze.

"No, you had nothing to do with it," Blaze replied softly, bringing her eyes to meet his amazing emerald green ones.

"But—"

"Shhh," Blaze said gently, reaching out with her hand to touch his lips gently. He instantly shut up, his fingers instantly looking down at her delicate fingers which were resting on his lips, an effective way to make him shut up. "If it bothers you so much, I forgive you, all right? Even though you've done nothing wrong." She took her hand off from his mouth, allowing her to see his small smile as he laughed a bit. He took his hand away from her cheek when he realized that her tears were gone.

"Thank you, Sonic," Blaze said quietly, smiling a gentle smile at him.

"Uh…for what?" he asked, confused.

Blaze shook her head, laughing a bit. "Nothing at all, you big idiot," she grinned, shaking her head at him. Oh, boys could be so naïve at times. Most of the females in the school always found it funny, dealing with the clueless boys in the school, and Blaze herself was included.

Sonic was about to ask Blaze exactly what she had meant by that, but then, he was interrupted by a familiar, eager shout.

"_SONIC!"_

"Oh, crap…" Sonic trailed off, turning around and seeing the dreaded pink bob of hair heading towards his way. His eyes widened, and instantly, with a quick wave of goodbye to Blaze, he streaked off, running away from Amy.

Amy came up next to Blaze, pouting, while the older girl was trying to stifle her laughter at Sonic's antics.

"Why does he always run _away_ from me?" Amy pouted, not really speaking to Blaze. Then, she turned to the lavender-haired princess, slightly out of breath from her little sprint to try and catch Sonic, and asked, "Aren't boys just so _stupid_ and _annoying_ sometimes?"

"Yes, indeed," Blaze answered with a grin, shaking her head once more as she looked in the direction that Sonic had sped off to. "And they can be so clueless and naïve as well."

"No truer words have ever been spoken," Amy joked, and Blaze laughed at that.

Life here, among other mutants like her, had helped ease away the pain that she had felt from her failure. And, at times like this, Blaze knew that, even though many things had happened to her, she was immensely lucky. Because, seriously, who attended a school where all the students were just about as close as family? Who didn't look at what you've done in the past?

And they'd all helped her to forgive herself for what had happened, helped her realize that some things were out of her control.

And, for that, she was extremely grateful towards all of them.

* * *

><p>Sonic anxiously tossed and turned in his sleep, his eyes flickering as his body tried to bat away an invisible enemy. He made sounds of distress in his sleep, taking in ragged pants of breath, his cobalt blue hair sticking to his sweaty forehead, beads of perspiration covering his bare chest.<p>

_Why do you fight me, Sonic?_

The gun pointing at a woman as the man tried to save her—

_Didn't you see the way I helped you when he killed them?_

Hiding in the closet, no one knowing he was there—

_It's much easier to let me in, to stop struggling against me._

The cocking of the pistol—

_I can unlock your true potential, give you limitless power…_

Deafening _BANG!_ as the man fell to the floor in a pool of his own blood—

_I can make you do great things, like what you did to him…_

The woman screaming fiercely and crying as she knelt near her dead husband—

_Remember the pain and agony you felt then?_

Her screams cut off as another _BANG!_ sounded and she fell on the wood—

_The pure, raw power that coursed through your veins?_

The sadistic grin and glint of insanity in the shooter's eyes—

_I can give you that, and so much more, if you just give in to me._

His scream of pain after seeing his parents shot right in front of him—

_I only want what's best for you, Sonic._

The unimaginable power that shot through his body—

_I can help you so much if you allow me to…_

Fear entering the man's pale eyes as he looked at the boy—

_If you just give yourself up to me…_

Screams of agony from the shooter as his red blood covered the little boy's hands so that his hands were bathed in red—

_I can make you do the unimaginable; amazing things._

The hatred, the rage, and the tears pouring down the boy's face—

_I can help you…_

Scarlet blood covering the wood—

_I WANT to help you…_

Only seeing red from his anger and agony—

_I truly care about you, Sonic._

Relishing in the man's screams, prolonging the torture—

_But I can't help you if you keep resisting._

Feeling nothing but cold satisfaction at the warm red blood on his hands—

_Don't fool yourself; I have so much to offer you…_

More screams, the man was still somehow alive—

_But you shut me out._

Finally, the man went silent after plunging his hand into his chest and ripping out his heart—

_We are capable of doing wondrous things, Sonic…_

The decapitated limbs of the man littering the floor—

_If you just come to me._

_Come to me. Let me in, Sonic._

_Don't resist. I'll help you._

_Come to me._

Sonic let out a sudden gasp as his emerald green eyes shot open, his back scraping the headboard of his bed as he shot up like an arrow in on his mattress, his heart beating rapidly and a thin layer of sweat coating his body. His sheet had been kicked off in the middle of his nightmare and was now lying on the ground, slightly dampened with his perspiration.

Eyes darting around the room, Sonic realized that he was fine, that the voice was gone. He closed his eyes in relief, letting out a relieved sigh.

Only to be bombarded by the memories again.

Sonic quickly opened his eyes once more, bringing his hand up to his face as he anxiously ran a hand through his damp cobalt blue hair, trying to calm himself down. His breathing was heavy and his eyes were glazed over as he remembered it all with surprising clarity.

He'd had a normal childhood, with parents who loved him very much. An awesome dad, a loving and tender mom. He looked up to his father as the greatest person ever to walk the Earth, and wanted to be just like him when he grew up. Everyone told him that he was a carbon copy of his father, but that he had his mother's nose. He loved his parents with all his heart.

That was when everything had gone and become messed up.

An unknown person was knocking on the door of their house one day, when Sonic had been playing a short game of 'Sorry!' with his dad. Not expecting anyone, his father, Dash, had exchanged a look with his wife, Esther, and had gone up to the door. When he checked through the peephole, however, his eyes had widened, and he'd asked Esther to take Sonic upstairs. She'd asked him why, and he said something to her in reply, something that Sonic hadn't been paying attention to. He'd been too busy absentmindedly playing with the pieces of the game board as he waited for his father to come back and play with him.

Esther had then taken Sonic upstairs, gently leading him to a closet.

"Mommy, why do I have to go in there?" he asked petulantly. Being only six years old, he thought that there was some type of punishment.

Esther managed a smile, her bright blue eyes, a few shades lighter than Sonic's cobalt hair, trying to convey that she was all right. She knelt down next to him, some of her brown hair falling in front of her eyes. "Well, we're playing a surprise game of hide-and-seek with Daddy," she whispered, as if telling him a secret.

Sonic grinned brightly at that. "And I have to wait here until Daddy manages to find me?" he asked, giggling at the thought of his father looking everywhere for him and then finally realizing it was a game. Then, he looked at his mother suspiciously. "Wait, you're not gonna tell him where I am, are you?"

Esther laughed a bit at that, placing her hands on his small shoulders. "Of course not, sweetheart. He'll never know. It'll be our little secret where you're hiding," she said with a wink. "Now, you go in there, and hide yourself well!"

"All right, Mommy!" he replied eagerly, going into the closet and covering himself with the coats that were laying there. He peeked out from under them. "Is this good?"

"I didn't see you at all," his mother replied, smiling at him, before closing the closet door, but not all the way, leaving it open a crack. "Now, remember, don't move until Daddy comes to get you."

"OK!" he said happily, and then hid under the coats some more.

Esther took a deep breath, before turning away from her son and facing what she had to with her husband.

After a lot of time passed, Sonic was beginning to get bored. Yes, he knew that they were playing a surprise game of hide-and-seek with his dad, but whenever they played surprise hide-and-seek games, he was always able to find him. However, Daddy hadn't come.

Curious, Sonic quickly got out of the closet, looking around before running down the hallway. It was then that he heard yelling downstairs, and, confused, he went over to one of the closets that had two doors, connecting two rooms. One of the rooms was where he heard the yelling. He entered the other way, quietly making his way through the junk in the closet before opening the door the slightest crack.

His parents were yelling at someone else, someone with black hair and cold yellow-green eyes. The odd man that Sonic had never seen before in his life was yelling right back at his parents, making a threatening gesture towards his mother. Dash had instantly stepped between his wife and the odd man that Sonic was still unable to identify. The words they were saying didn't really make sense to him, because they were still slightly muffled by the door that he was peeking out of.

"Leave us alone!" his mother cried out, clutching her husband for support. "Look, Zach, I loved you, I admit I did…but that was before you showed your true self. I've found happiness now…I have a husband, and I love him. Please, you have to understand that…"

"You…you left me," the man, who Sonic guessed was Zach, said, his voice sounding odd…slurred was the word, as if the words were melting together. His eyes had an odd look in them as if he wasn't really there.

"When you began to abuse me, I had to get a divorce," Esther whispered quietly. "You _hurt_ me, Zach, and I was afraid. You were different before the marriage…and then you showed your true self. I couldn't take it any more, Zach."

"You BITCH!" Zach suddenly roared, and Sonic winced at the bad word that his Mommy and Daddy told him never to say. "You _left_ me and then married _this_ punk!" He made a gesture towards Dash.

"Zach, you're drunk," Esther said quietly. "Please, go, leave me in peace, leave my family alone. Please, Zach…"

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave, sir," Dash said firmly, looking at the man who was slightly swaying as he stood up. "You're scaring my wife, and we have a young son who could be hearing this right now."

Zach's eyes suddenly darkened, and he reached into his back pocket to pull out something. "Do you honestly think that I'll leave like that?" he hissed, glaring at the married couple. "You took her from me, bastard! And if I can't have her, then no one can have her!"

It was then that he pulled out the deadly gun from his pocket, aiming it towards Esther in his fury. Sonic's eyes widened—he'd never really seen a gun before, but he knew that they were bad.

"NO!" shouted Dash, who jumped in front of Esther, grabbing her hand and trying to run.

"You won't get away from me that easily!" Zach yelled, his eyes slightly insane as he cocked the gun, and the deafening, deadly _BANG!_ was heard in the room.

Sonic couldn't believe his eyes, seeing the body of his father crumple to the floor as he choked on his own blood, managing to look at his wife in the eye while he sputtered through the blood, realizing that he only had a few moments left, "Esther…I love you…tell Sonic for me…I love him…too…"

And, just like that, he was gone.

"No! Dash, you can't leave me! You can't!" Esther cried out, shaking him, crying quietly as she tried to rouse her husband, but to no avail. He was dead. There was no bringing him back.

Sonic felt silent tears begin to well in his eyes, before his mother furiously turned towards Zach.

"HOW COULD YOU?" she shrieked at him, her eyes burning with her tears and her anger. "WHY? WHY, Zach? _WHY?_"

Another _BANG!_ sounded, before Esther let out a choked sound, and her body fell on the floor along with her husband. She choked out blood, her eyes glazing over as she managed one last glare at Zach.

"I hate you," she managed to croak out, before her eyes rolled back into her head, and, just like that, the last breath left her body. Both she and her husband had been shot in their hearts, causing assured death.

Sonic couldn't believe it, couldn't believe his eyes. Just like that, his Mommy and Daddy were gone.

Dead.

Never coming back.

Dead.

And that man had killed them.

They were dead.

Because of the stranger.

He killed them.

Sonic let out a scream of pure rage as the closet door opened on its own accord. The man, Zach, had been grinning with sadistic pleasure, slightly insane, before his gaze was whipped towards the closet.

Snarls and animalistic growls were coming from Sonic's small throat as he glared venomously at the man, unimaginable power coursing through his veins. Sonic then felt one of the sides of his mouth lift up into a smirk, and a thought crossed through his mind.

_This'll be fun._

Except it wasn't _his_ voice, but another part of him.

It had been the first appearance of Dark Sonic.

After that, everything had been a blur. Sonic didn't really remember what happened, but he killed Zach in a gruesome, painful way, that was for sure. He was coated in Zach's blood when the whole thing was over and done with, the decapitated pieces of the man's body littering the ground around him. He'd felt nothing but cold satisfaction, had relished in the screams of pain, had tried to come up with new ways to torture him—

_Don't you see what power I can give you?_

Sonic snapped back to the present as the voice sounded in his head. Dark, sinister, but his voice. _His_ voice.

Only Shadow, Blaze, Knuckles, and Rouge knew the full truth about Dark Sonic.

Dark Sonic lived inside of Sonic already—and, on particularly bad nights, when Sonic was having nightmares of what had happened to him, Dark Sonic would speak to Sonic and try to manipulate him. If Sonic gave over to Dark Sonic willingly, then Dark Sonic would take control, and no one knew what could happen if a deadly force like that was unleashed.

_You know that I unlock your true power._

Sonic tried to fight back, but the voice continued to speak.

_Sonic, I want to help you. Set me free…come to me…and I'll show you the things you are capable of. You are so much better than all of them…_

SHUT UP! Sonic wanted to scream in his mind, but he was powerless to the darkness of Dark Sonic. More beads of sweat appeared on his body as he grappled with the pain that came as he tried to fight Dark Sonic, tried to fight _himself_. His fingers anxiously gripped his hair, as if he wanted to tear it out of his skull, and he would if he was able to end this. Without a second thought he would, if it would get rid of Dark Sonic and his manipulations once and for all.

_I can give you so much, Sonic…and yet, you resist me. Why?_

It was a rhetorical question, one that Sonic wasn't supposed to answer. He wouldn't be able to answer it, anyway, even if he could. It hurt too much right now as he shut his eyes, his breathing coming in labored pants as he struggled with the agony that always came when Dark Sonic tried to take over when he wasn't extremely angry.

He bit back a cry of pain at the agony—anguish as reliving how his parents were taken away, pain caused by Dark Sonic…_everything_.

Then, the small lamp turned on, and, just like that, Dark Sonic left the teenaged Sonic alone.

Shadow looked at his friend closely in the light of the lamp, and he had to say that the other boy extremely close to his age looked worse for wear. Sweat was covering his face and bare torso, and he was gripping his hair tightly. He'd been breathing hard before, but now, his breaths were evening out as he managed to calm himself down. He closed his emerald green eyes, exhausted and defeated.

"Dark Sonic attacking you again?" Shadow asked quietly, already taking a guess.

"Yeah," Sonic replied, swallowing to try and get rid of the dryness of his throat before gasping some more for air, squeezing his eyes shut. "But…but I think he's gone now."

"Does Professor Wayne know?" asked the black-and-crimson haired teen, his ruby red eyes holding an amount of concern for his friend.

"Not sure," Sonic answered, regaining his breath as he wiped his palm across his forehead. "It's…it's getting worse," he confessed. Shadow was the only person who he'd actually confess these things to—the other fifteen-year-old understood what he was going through a bit, with Chaos within his own being. Also, Shadow and Sonic were very close friends, even though Shadow would probably never admit it aloud to anyone.

"I think he should know, if it's getting worse," Shadow suggested to the distraught teen. He knew that Sonic also had a hard past, which was something that made him respect the blue-haired young man, and Shadow honestly didn't want to see anyone else suffer. Not one of his friends.

"Maybe he knows already," Sonic said, still taking in deep breaths, trying to calm down his rapidly beating heart.

"But what if he doesn't?" Shadow said, looking at Sonic seriously.

"I can still hold him back," Sonic retorted, swallowing again to try to fix his parched throat, and then opening his mouth again for air.

Shadow looked at Sonic disbelievingly now. "Yes, but just barely. Look at what he's done to you this time!"

Sonic was silent for a few moments, finally managing to function normally again. He stood up, getting out of bed to wash his face, to get rid of the sweat that had accumulated. As he turned on the bathroom light and splashed some warm water on his face, he felt a bit better.

That was before he looked into the mirror.

It was him as Dark Sonic, wearing an evil, sadistic smirk. Midnight hair and white, soulless eyes, dark aura slowly pulsating around him.

_Sonic, I want to help. Let me in, come to me._

The mouth wasn't moving, the voice once again sounding in Sonic's head.

Sonic dropped his gaze to the sink, sweat coming onto his forehead once again as he gripped the sides of the sink so hard that his knuckles turned white. He looked up to see Dark Sonic still looking at him, as if inspecting him like he was a piece of meat.

_I know you want me to help you. I can give you limitless power. You'll never be too weak to save those you care about anymore._

The agony began ripping through his skull again, and he looked at the white ceramic of the sink once more, gasping as his emerald green eyes widened with agony and pain. His mouth opened in a silent cry of anguish as he squeezed his eyes shut and his neck arched back in pain, before he dropped his head once more.

_Just let me in, Sonic. Come to me._

_Come to me._

Sonic quickly splashed cold water on his face, vigorously rubbing his face with his hands, keeping on until his face felt almost numb from how much cold water he placed on it. He didn't want to feel anything but the cold, didn't want to hear anything but the water running from the faucet, needed to get away from his other darker half lest he go insane.

When he looked up again through the water that was running down his face, making his scruffy bangs stick to his forehead, he realized that he was looking into his own reflection. He let out a relieved sigh as he allowed himself to relax, taking in deep breaths.

The blue-haired teen eventually went back into the bedroom part of the room that he shared with Shadow, going back on the bed. Now, anyone else would've thought that he was better now, but Shadow knew him better than that. His muscles were slightly tensed, his facial features seeming to be contorted in slight pain as he simply stared at the ceiling, his face illuminated by the light of the lamp.

"You should tell the Professor, Sonic—maybe he'll be able to help," Shadow said again.

"Shad, I'll be fine," the other teenager replied, but his body language disagreed with him. When Shadow gave him a pointed look, Sonic let out a slightly aggravated sigh. "Look, if I tell Professor W, then…well, I don't know what he'll do with me. Will I be viewed as a threat? Will I have to leave this place…the place that I call my home?" Sonic looked away from Shadow then, turning his gaze back to the ceiling.

"He wouldn't make you leave, Sonic, you know that," the normally taciturn teenager said, running a hand absentmindedly through his ebony-and-red locks.

Sonic was silent for a couple of moments, before he confessed in a quiet whisper to Shadow, "He's…he seems to be getting stronger now. Always attacking when I'm most vulnerable, like tonight, invading my nightmares. I don't know how long I can…I'm not sure if I can take it…it hurts to resist him…"

"Wayne would probably be able to help, but only if you tell him," Shadow said, trying to get the idea through the stubborn teen's head. However, Sonic was never known for letting one of his beliefs go easily.

"Shad, I don't wanna burden anyone else with this knowledge," Sonic said quietly, making eye contact with Shadow. Their eyes, polar opposites in color—bright emerald green and deep ruby red—both shone with pain that they'd experienced and the shared knowledge of what the other was going through. "You already know about this, as do Rouge, Blaze, and Knuckles, and I know that you guys won't tell anyone else. But the Professor already has enough on his hands. First worrying about this new enemy that might try to capture us in the middle of the night, and then dealing with problems that the other students face…I don't want to burden him, Shad, or any of the others." He let out a quiet sigh as he turned away from Shadow once more, looking at the ceiling once again.

After a few more moments of silence, Shadow suggested quietly, "We should try to get some more rest, Sonic. Neither of us is good company without a sufficient amount of sleep."

"Yeah," Sonic replied, while Shadow reached over the night table and shut off the lamp. "G'night, Shad."

All he got in reply was a grunt from Shadow as he turned away from Sonic, making the blue-haired boy smile the tiniest bit. Some things never changed, and Shadow's sometimes prickly attitude was one of them.

However, when he closed his eyes, _his_ voice was still there. Faint and slightly fading away, but still there, an ominous shadow that forever lurked within Sonic's mind.

_Why do insist on resisting? I have so much to offer you, Sonic…_

_I can release all that hidden power inside of you. I can teach you to harness it, to use it freely…_

_…if you just let me in. Surrender to me, let me in, come to me._

_It'd be so much easier for you…I can help you protect those you care about…_

_If you just come to me._

_Come to me. Set me free from my imprisonment, Sonic…_

_And I can rid you of your troubles, give you so much power._

_All you have to do is surrender yourself to me._

_Come to me, Sonic. That's all you have to do…_

_I want to help you. But I can't if you shut me out._

_Just come to me._

_Come to me…_

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><p><strong>0_0…-_-…0_0…-_-…0_0…<strong>

**Well, I was thinking of making this a nice, light chappie, a break from the dark stuff, and tried to write three different things, and then, suddenly, _this_ somehow all pops into my head. And I just have to write it down.**

**Way to go, my genius brain.**

**Anyways, well, this chapter was really, REALLY dark, I noticed, but I decided that I'd start to go into some of the pasts of our favorite characters of the Academy. I thought, 'Well, since I did Shadow's past, I might as well do everyone else's, too…' but I hadn't intended on the ending until literally a few seconds ago when a brilliant idea had suddenly popped into my head.**

**So, what'd you think of it? Too much dark for you? No more delving into the pained, tortured pasts of our favorite characters? Please, leave me your thoughts, I'd love to hear what you have to say about this. And I'm sorry if it's getting too dark for some of you, and I'm not sure if I should bump up the rating. I think it's fine as 'T', but if anyone says that I should bump it up, then I will.**

**Anyway, I hope you liked this! I also like this chapter a bit, too…even though it's so dark…I'm such a terrible person, I know. And I'm not sure if I'm going to use the next chapter for more tortured, pained, twisted, messed up pasts of our favorite characters, so I can't promise anything about the next chapter…**

**Well, enough about that. I hope you liked, and please, review and leave me your thoughts! Hearing what you have to say always makes my day and is what encourages me to write more of this story! And, as always, thank you for reading this, and please, please, please review! :)**


	6. Jewels

**Thanks, guys, for all the nice reviews that I'm getting! Sorry for the late update, but Regents week was killer, and I was studying like a maniac for 3 weeks, so I had no time to write at ALL. In case you're wondering, though, this chapter was actually inspired by one of my anonymous reviewers, named bigc. Thank you so much, even though you might not be reading this now! XD And a guest OC, named Chuck Carter, has been offered to me by Kratos Pwns—so he belongs to Kratos. Thanks for offering to let me use this character!**

**And, just so you guys know (and I know I said this before, but I'll say it again) fanart is being done for this story by the lovely and awesome and amazing kagehime-sama53! Just go to her profile, and she has the link to the fanart for Academy for Mutants! (I'm not putting the link on here because fanfiction deletes it :D). Go check out her pictures, they're absolutely AMAZING! Thank you so much, kagehime, for doing the fanart!**

**OK, _now_ we go on to the story!**

**Disclaimer: Yes, I own Sonic the Hedgehog. I'm also President of the United States, I have a mansion, am married to Liam Hemsworth, have all the money in the damn world because I robbed so many banks, and I live in a world where unicorns eat rainbows and poop out butterflies. In case any of you guys didn't catch that, it was all sarcasm. I don't own Sonic the Hedgehog, guys. Please don't sue me, SEGA!**

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><p>If you knew Amy Rose, you would know two things about her—that she was completely obsessed with Sonic, and that she was also a very perceptive person at times, and could point out the littlest things about how a person felt or what they were hiding. Of course, she couldn't see that Sonic's running away from her was from pure fear, but that was beside the point.<p>

It was during her Geometry class with Shadow that she noticed that something was wrong.

Sometimes, she noticed, he would suddenly slightly wince during classes, choking out a small curse, as if he'd accidentally hurt himself by banging his knee against one of the metal legs of the table or had accidentally given himself a paper cut because he had been leafing through some papers too fast. When Amy would ask if he was all right, he would give her the typical response—that he was just _fine_. As long as that kid had breath in his lungs, he was _fine_ by his standards (Amy would always roll her eyes when she thought of this).

However, it was more and more often that Shadow seemed to be 'hurting himself', and Amy was getting the odd feeling that he wasn't accidentally doing a small trivial thing to harm himself, and she was getting more and more worried. She knew that he wasn't intentionally harming himself, but…it was almost as if he was sick with something. As if he was having internal pain. That was what it was looking like to her as time progressed.

While the class was absentmindedly talking amongst themselves as they tried to solve some of the problems that Mister Woods had given them to do, Amy heard a small, choked breath escape Shadow. She looked out of the corner of her eye to see him closing his eyes, placing his forehead in his palm, trying to be inconspicuous about it. Amy could see him clenching his jaw.

"Shadow, are you all right?" she asked him in a worried whisper.

"I'm fine," was the natural response from Shadow. However, his voice was the slightest bit strained—only someone who really knew Shadow could tell the difference in his usually simply deep and slightly gruff voice. His grip on his pencil was also unnaturally tight, and his jaw refused to completely unclench and relax.

"Shadow, do you think that I'm stupid?" Amy said, looking at him with annoyance sparkling in her green eyes. Shadow took his hand from his forehead and looked at her, his ruby red eyes slightly irritated as well, and decided not to answer her, simply lightly glaring at her for a few seconds before turning back to his work.

"Look, I know that something's hurting you," she told him. "Are your Chaos powers acting up or something?" Everyone knew about the light internal conflict that Shadow had with his power over Chaos, which sometimes—but very rarely—caused him pain.

When he didn't reply, it only made her even more worried.

"Shadow, what's wrong?" she asked him, her tone slightly scared. Hearing the light fear in her voice caused Shadow to look up at her again, seeing the worry for him and slight fear for his health within her grass-green eyes, the eyes that always overflowed with whatever emotion she was feeling, the eyes that were so easy to read, easily showing her soul. Seeing that expression on her face caused him to slightly sigh a bit, shaking his head.

"It's not the pain that Chaos sometimes gives me," he actually admitted to her in a low voice, one that was so quiet that Amy was almost unable to hear what he had said. "This is…different than that pain. Somehow." It was almost as if he was trying to puzzle it aloud himself, almost forgetting the fact that Amy was still there with him, listening to him.

"How is it different?" she asked him softly.

Shadow honestly had no idea why he was actually answering her questions—maybe the fear and worry in her eyes that she had for him had managed to soften him up somehow, managed to get him to open up slightly to her by actually admitting his pain to her.

"It…the pain that Chaos causes me is usually centered towards my internal organs, mostly my heart, because it's within me," he confessed, once again, more like speaking to himself than speaking to her. She heard the smallest traces of confusion within his voice as well, and she was also surprised at the fact that he was actually telling her something. He continued quietly, his voice barely even a whisper as she strained to hear him speak. "But this pain…it's almost like I'm having a headache that's extremely powerful, as if…as if someone's screwing around with my head. Almost as if I have a connection to someone, and that someone is hurt, and I'm feeling that pain as well…sometimes, it's worse than others, and other times it's just annoying headaches, but they…I've never felt this before…"

"How long has it been like this?" Amy needed to know, her voice, once again, worried for his health. Maybe he was sick!

"About…a little over a month or so," Shadow replied, seeming to have regained control of himself. The pain had passed, and his breathing was more even than it had been before.

For some reason, Amy felt as if the fact that he had been feeling it for just about a month was important…what else had been going on for a little over a month now…?

And then it hit her.

"Hey, that's just about as long as Professor W's been feeling the weird thoughts from the unnatural mutants, the ones that he thinks the people that Raiyne called the Eggmen are making," she whispered in surprise, her eyes wide. It had been just under a month since Professor Wayne had announced to the school about the odd vibes that he was getting, and a little before that when Knuckles had told them at lunch. "Do you…do you think that the pain that you're feeling might possibly be related to that, in some way?"

"I honestly don't think that's it, Amy. I've probably just got an illness or something—I'm sure it'll pass," Shadow said indifferently. "Probably from stress or something…" However, Amy could tell that he, too, was beginning to doubt his previous suspicions about simply having a passing sickness.

"Shadow, I think that you should talk to Professor Wayne about this," Amy told him seriously. Instinctively, she reached out and felt his forehead with the back of her palm, and, to her surprise, wasn't exactly met with resistance. His only objection was a light huff, but he didn't jerk his head away as she gently felt his temperature. When his forehead didn't feel like it was burning hot, she pulled her hand back. "You don't have a fever…and if you had a cold, you'd be sneezing and coughing and stuff…this might be really, really serious, Shadow. You've been feeling this way for over a month—I think that you have to tell the Professor as soon as possible."

He was silent for a few minutes, thinking about the similarities of this conversation with the one that he had with Sonic about his darker alter-ego not too long ago. He had told the other teenager to go to Professor Wayne, telling him of his dilemma, but Sonic had refused, thinking he could take care of it himself and that it wasn't too big of a deal to annoy the Professor with; Shadow had felt annoyed as a result. Now, he was in a similar situation, except he was seeing it from the other side, from the point of view that Sonic had been in. He knew that Amy would probably become annoyed and unhappy if he didn't talk to the Professor—she seemed to actually _care_ about his wellbeing.

He gave a slightly defeated sigh, actually slightly concerned about this himself. "All right, I will," he said in condescension to her request, and his reply made her smile brightly at him in return.

"Go after Geometry—there's enough time between classes, right?" Amy asked. "And if you're late, then it won't be by that much, right?"

Shadow shrugged absentmindedly in reply, making Amy internally roll her eyes again. And here was the silent Shadow who opted to give you barely even a gesture as a reply to a question.

In a few minutes, the bell rang that signaled the end of classes. Both Shadow and Amy simultaneously got out of their seats, and then Amy turned to look at Shadow.

"Remember—go see Professor W, or else…" She allowed her words to trail off threateningly, making Shadow roll his eyes. As if she could truly harm him in any way. But, then again, that Piko-Piko hammer of hers was rather powerful, from what he'd heard…he'd never been on the receiving end of that deadly hammer, but a few that had been unfortunate enough to have incurred Amy's anger were Knuckles and Sonic, both of whom had complained about having huge bumps on their heads and pounding headaches. So, he thought that it was better not to piss off Amy extremely if he wanted to not gain a bump on his head and a concussion as well.

"Yes, I'm going," he told her in assurance, and she nodded to him.

"See ya, Shadow," she grinned towards him, and he replied with a silent nod, before he began to walk over to the office of the Professor.

Eventually, he reached the office, just as the old man was coming out of the door, apparently having been expecting him.

"Ah, Shadow," Professor W said amiably, looking at the slightly glowering ebony-and-crimson-haired teenager, whose ruby eyes seemed to be the slightest bit annoyed. "I'm glad that you came. Come inside."

Slightly guarded, Shadow followed the Professor into his office, where he dismissed one of the teachers quietly. Shadow recognized him as Mr. Johnson, Sonic's History teacher, who was going out of the room, quietly speaking something to the Professor in his ear. The mind-reader nodded, and Mr. Johnson nodded in return, before giving Shadow a glance as he left the room.

What had _that_ been about?

"Have a seat, my boy," Professor Wayne said amiably in invitation, and Shadow sat down in front of the desk, while the old man went over to the cooler. "Would you like a soda? Or is water fine?" As he was speaking, he pulled out a small water bottle for himself, before turning back to the boy.

"…Water's fine," Shadow answered in a mutter, and the Professor nodded and pulled out another water bottle, holding one in each hand as he came back to the table. He passed one of the bottles to Shadow, who took it and unscrewed the cap before drinking a bit of the cold refreshment. The older man opened his water bottle, but didn't take a drink from it yet.

"So, I presume that you wanted to talk to me?" he asked the young man in front of him. Shadow stopped drinking his water, placing it down in front of him slowly at the reminder that the old man had said. He turned away slightly, not wanting to meet the gray eyes of the Professor, before nodding.

"Well, before that, I have a question," Professor Wayne said, and Shadow turned to look at him with one eyebrow slightly raised. It was his silent way of saying that he was listening, waiting to hear the question.

"Do you know if anything's been…_odd_…with Sonic lately?" he asked the teenager. At that, Shadow slightly stiffened, the hand that had been absentmindedly holding the water bottle slightly clenching.

"Why?" Shadow retorted.

"He fell asleep in Mister Johnson's class yet _again_," the Professor replied, sounding the slightest bit amused and a bit stern as well, "and he says that he's been acting odd. Sometimes, he lets out moans in his sleep, as if he's…_pained_, or wakes up as if he'd been seeing ghosts in his sleep. He's been acting like this for a couple of days, and it's worrying his teachers. It has happened in some of his other classes as well, and is concerning everyone. And if I try to pry into his mind gently to see if he's sick, I'm strangely blocked off by something like…an unnatural mental wall. This isn't like Sonic at all—even his teachers are saying that. He's not the troublemaking teenager that they know. Do you know what's going on?"

Shadow was silent for a few moments, looking away once more, debating on whether or not to tell the Professor what he knew. He didn't want to betray Sonic's trust and blab when he'd made a vow not to, but…he also didn't want his best friend hurt (not that he'd ever admit that Sonic was actually his best friend _aloud_ to people). The cobalt-haired speedy teenager thought that he was strong enough to take care of it himself, but the effect that Dark Sonic was having on him was becoming the slightest bit obvious—sleeping in class and crying out in pain were definite signs, and another sign was the mental wall. Only Dark Sonic could've put that up in Sonic's mind, so that the Professor wouldn't be able to know what was wrong with him.

The undeniably handsome features of Shadow's face were pensive as his intense ruby red gaze looked at nothing exactly, as he decided on what to tell the old man.

"I know what's going on with Sonic," he began, "but he doesn't want me speaking about it with anyone. If you want to know, I suggest that you ask Sonic himself. It isn't my place to reveal what he wishes to keep secret."

The Professor nodded. "That's understandable—I'll find out soon enough. But enough of that." The mind-reader looked knowingly at Shadow. "There's something that you wanted to tell me, is there not?"

Shadow fell silent once more, crossing his arms almost defensively against his leanly muscular chest as he closed his eyes. "…Yes," he answered after a period of silence. "I…well, lately, I've been…" Damn, talking about his problems to the old man was much harder than it was when he was talking to Amy…he honestly had no idea why it was easier for him to tell her what was bothering her and not the Professor.

"I haven't exactly been feeling well all the time," Shadow confessed, absolutely refusing to open his eyes. It was much easier to talk when eye contact wasn't being made. "Sometimes, I feel…I don't know, this odd type of pain inside of my skull. It's not the pain that Chaos sometimes causes me…it's more like someone is messing around with my brain, causing me headaches that are almost like migraines. Sometimes they hurt a lot, and other times they don't…and I'm not sure why. It doesn't feel right…and I don't think that I'm sick…"

He finally opened his eyes to see that the Professor had a thoughtful expression on his face. "How long have you been feeling this way, Shadow?" he asked, even though he probably knew the answer but wanted to make sure that it was true.

"Only a little over a month," Shadow replied, looking away slightly. "It…I'm becoming a bit…concerned. I'm not sure what I have…and I'm not sure of the side-effects of whatever the hell I have…"

_He's afraid that he might die,_ Professor Wayne translated in his head. He knew that Shadow would never say that aloud, but it was true, and it was completely reasonable for the boy. He was only fifteen, and still had so much to live for. The thought that one could possibly have a terminal illness was a bit unnerving for anyone.

"I don't think that you have an illness, either, Shadow," he stated. "And I noticed that you've been feeling odd ever since I first sensed the unnatural mutants…I wonder if it could somehow be linked to that? Is there anything else?"

"…Sometimes, my power over Chaos acts up when this happens," Shadow admitted. When the Professor heard the word 'Chaos' again, he felt the odd feeling that there was something else that he should know about Chaos, that there was…

His eyes widened a bit as it suddenly came to him. He'd heard rumors, but had never believed them.

There were stories about a set of seven magical, beautiful jewels, shaped like diamonds, that were able to grant unimaginable power. However, only those that knew how to harness this power were able to use this magical, sacred power; and, if misused, these gems could plunge the very world as they knew it into pure despair.

They were called Chaos Emeralds

Now, Professor Wayne had a hunch that these Chaos Emeralds were actually linked with Shadow's mutation…and that these object might have been the ones causing him pain. But why would they be, even if they _were_ affecting him?

"Shadow…" Professor W trailed off as he looked at Shadow in the eye, the younger man's crimson gaze meeting his warm gray one. "…Have you ever heard of a set of things called…'Chaos Emeralds'?"

When he heard the words, something tugged at his memory lightly. His eyes widened slightly as he remembered what it was.

"Yes, I have," he replied, his voice slightly thoughtful as he remembered. "Grandpa…he sometimes told Maria and I about them, and he said that, if they were collected, that they would help him in scientific breakthroughs. After I gained my…_mutation_, he even thought that finding these Emeralds would help him find out how I got it, and maybe help me control it better. He said that he also thought that they might be an alternate source for energy, and that they might help the growing problem of global warming." Everything was rushing back as he remembered the conversations that Maria and him had sometimes had with their grandfather as he talked about the things that he built with them.

"Have you ever considered that they are what is causing you this pain?" the Professor continued, as he, too, mused on that option.

"How the hell would _I_ know? I just remembered that now, Grandpa just sometimes rambled on about it, and it wasn't exactly deemed of any importance to me until this very moment," Shadow grumbled, slightly peevish.

Professor Wayne began to think, his eyes widening as he suddenly began to put things together, based purely on guessing. But now, things were beginning to make sense. Why he was suddenly getting strange vibes from outside, why Shadow was feeling pain, and why the unnatural mutants felt mutated. They were being forced by a power source, a power source that Professor Wayne had a good idea of what it was.

"Shadow…if it is these Chaos Emeralds that are causing you pain, I think that I have a vague idea of what's happening now," he told the young man.

At that, Shadow averted his gaze away from the wall and turned to look at the older man. "You might?" he asked. "Because most of it isn't making sense."

"I think that the ones that are mutating the children—those that Raiyne said who called themselves the 'Eggmen'—are using a power source to forcefully mutate children, after conducting experiments on real mutants, such as Raiyne herself. And, based on the fact that you've been feeling odd internal pain that isn't caused by Chaos within you but as if someone is messing with your head, I have a feeling that they've been using the Chaos Emeralds to forcefully mutate the kids."

Shadow's ruby red eyes widened in pure shock. _"What?"_ he said in disbelief. "You mean to tell me that you think a possibly mythical set of extremely powerful gems is causing the mutations?"

"It makes sense, Shadow, if you think about it. You've told me that you've been feeling this for a little over a month—that's about as long as I've felt the odd vibes from those who I believe are being artificially mutated. Your power _is_ power over Chaos, and maybe it's not a mere coincidence that you came up with that name for your power—maybe it's somehow _linked_ to these Chaos Emeralds, making you linked to their power as well. They are probably being misused so much by these Eggmen, who I have a belief are using them, that you are feeling it inadvertently, without you truly knowing. And, if these gems are even _real_ and have such power as they are rumored to have, then I have no doubt that they have the power to cause some unnatural mutations. This is, of course, all merely my own speculations."

Shadow was looking at the older man oddly, one eyebrow raised. How the mind-reader came up with all of this, he had no idea—and it was mostly based on the idea of a set of supposedly mythical super-powerful gems.

"I swear, old man," he muttered, rolling his eyes. "Sometimes I wonder if you're always completely here. You're almost as bad as my grandfather was. You're extremely smart, yes, but also a bit eccentric."

Professor Wayne grinned a bit at Shadow. "Well, I have to have a vivid imagination, based on the things that I've seen and read in people's minds. But, Shadow," he said seriously, making eye-contact with the teenager, "don't simply rule out what I've said. I think that there's a good chance that I might be pretty close in guessing."

Shadow rolled his eyes again. "You know, I would be much more inclined to believe all of this if I actually _saw_ a Chaos Emerald for myself. Then, _maybe_, this would all seem the slightest bit more believable than it seems right now."

The Professor's eyes lit up slightly. "Then what's what we'll do. We'll find a Chaos Emerald."

"And how, exactly, are we going to do this?" Shadow retorted, giving the mind-reader a look. "It's not as if we can magically find one simply by willing it." His tone was dripping with sarcasm as he rolled his as at the old man who he believed was slightly senile.

The Professor smirked. "Just recently, I saw on television that a museum that focuses on rare jewels was proudly proclaiming that it had one of the legendary Chaos Emeralds in its possession." That particular reason had also been why the Chaos Emeralds had come to his mind.

"And how are we going to obtain it, even if it _is_ real?" Shadow challenged.

Professor W's smirk grew the slightest bit wider. "Who do we know that is speedy, absolutely loves mischief, and enjoys causing trouble even if it isn't necessary at all?"

Now, Shadow actually smirked lightly along with Professor Wayne. "Of course," he said, betraying a slight chuckle. "But what if Sonic isn't up for it—which I doubt he will be, but on the off chance that he is?"

"I'm sure that Rouge wouldn't mind nabbing the jewel for us," the Professor said offhandedly. "She could get there relatively fast, considering her ability to fly, and is quite the master at stealth—in fact, she was a jewel thief at one point, wasn't she?" Shadow nodded; it had been something that Rouge hadn't minded people knowing about her past, the fact that she had stolen jewels—in fact, she'd been proud of the things that she'd managed to steal. "And, even if she can't do it, then I'm sure that Espio could be more than helpful, so that the cameras don't even see him and the previous training that he had as a ninja. And, even if that doesn't work, then we have you to use Chaos Control if need be."

Shadow betrayed a chuckle once more, shaking his head slightly. The old coot had this all planned out. "Encouraging us to steal—I never knew that you had this side to you, old man. I like it."

"I don't understand why it always surprises everyone when I suggest things like this," the old man grinned in reply. "I was rather the childhood delinquent, in all honesty. Why is everyone so shocked when they hear of this?"

Shadow snickered, getting out of the chair that he had been sitting in. "Do you want me to tell Sonic about the potential crime that he has to commit?" he asked the Professor.

"No, I'll inform him," Wayne replied, taking a sip from the almost-forgotten water bottle that was in front of him. "You should go, so that you're not late for your next class."

Shadow nodded, before walking towards the door, his hand turning the handle and opening it.

"Oh, and Shadow," the Professor said from behind him, and Shadow paused, halfway in and halfway out of the room as he turned to look back at the mind-reader's gray eyes.

"I'd rather you not tell anyone else about our assumptions until we're sure about this," he said seriously, and, at first, Shadow was going to readily agree. Then, he remembered what made him speak to the Professor in the first place, and honestly wondered if he would be able to not tell Amy about what had happened, and the others who could keep secrets, their small group of friends. After all, they always shared things that they heard with him, and he felt slightly inclined to return the favor, and he _knew_ that Amy would pester him until he actually told her what was going on.

Seeing the slight uncertainty that had entered the normally taciturn teenager's crimson eyes, Professor Wayne added, "Now, I don't mind if you tell a few kids—I know that your little group tells each other everything. But don't tell anyone that you doubt can keep it secret, understand? I'd rather not the whole school go into a panic."

Shadow nodded once more, showing that he got Professor Wayne's point, before he left the room, heading over to his next class.

When he was gone, once again, the older man sighed as he placed his face in his hands. So many things were going awry—first, Sonic's odd acting, something that Shadow refused to tell him because he didn't want to betray his friend's trust, which obviously warranted that something rather serious was going on; next was the odd pain that Shadow was feeling, which brought the idea of the Chaos Emeralds being real; and, among all of this, was the ever-present threat that these Eggmen were mutating these children, and that they might try to get their hands on some of the kids attending his school. Raiyne had already experienced the terrible things that they would do to children, and it was obvious that she didn't want it to happen to anyone else, as did Adrian.

Why did so many dangers have to be in the shadows for the children? Why did they sometimes have to worry for their lives, not sure if an ominous threat was going to take them in the middle of the night? They were good children—yes, some of them were too mischievous for their own good, but they were all good kids, not deserving of the things that happened to them and the things that could possibly happen to them simply because they were mutated. The reason that he had created this school was so that they would be safe, but it seemed as if it was slowly becoming more and more unsafe by the minute. These gifted children had to hide themselves from the outside world to stay safe, but it seemed as if they were still being targeted, even in their solitary place.

Why couldn't the children just be left alone, to be able to live out normal lives, not signaled out because of their mutation? Why were there always dangers that they had to watch out for?

Why couldn't the world just accept them?

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><p>Just as the Professor had thought, after Shadow had informed his friends of what had transpired and had been brainstormed in his office, Sonic eagerly accepted the task of breaking and entering into a museum to steal a supposedly super-powerful gem, and, just like Shadow, was completely surprised that the old man actually had a side to him like that. However, he didn't quibble, and agreed to do it.<p>

After being told where it was a while after accepting the challenge, Sonic instantly sped away to the museum after he had all the necessary information he needed. He ran down the streets as fast as he could without creating a sonic boom, dashing as quickly as he could down the necessary streets. It was quite a bit into the afternoon, almost nighttime, but not quite. Just around the time that the museum was closing.

He entered the museum undetected, walking in casually, as if he was the random person that wanted to look through the museum in about fifteen minutes before it closed. Yeah. Totally normal.

He casually strolled around the museum for a little bit, finally passing by the exhibit that was showing the so-called Chaos Emerald. It was set on a velvet pillow, and boxed in by a railing—four metal posts connected by chains, making a square around it. He made a mental note of where it was before continuing aimlessly around the large building.

When the owners announced that the museum would be closing in 5 minutes, Sonic knew that this was his chance. Being as slow as he could, he began to walk back towards the exit, stalling as much as he possibly could, so that he would be able to dash out of the place without much trouble after quickly grabbing the gem. As he walked past the exhibit again, he quickly spotted the cameras; one was at an angle that captured the video of whoever was walking by, and the other one was right above the Chaos Emerald.

Sonic smirked—even though they had cameras, they were still no match for his speed. He just had to make sure that he wasn't seen by the camera that showed people passing by the exhibit—if they checked the video to see who was in that section at that time and saw that it was stolen when he was around, then they would become suspicious.

However, it wouldn't be a problem for the cobalt-haired teenager at all.

Sonic walked behind the camera casually, before quickly using his power. In less than a second, he had dashed away so that the first camera couldn't see him, grabbed the jewel, and sprinted all the way to the entrance, where there were still quite a few people milling about. He mingled easily with the throng of people as he went towards the exit.

Once he was out the door, he looked around, making sure no one was looking, and began to speed home.

On his way back to the Academy, Sonic actually took his time in looking at the gem that was in his hands, the supposed Chaos Emerald, slowing down to a 'jog' of about three hundred miles per hour. It was very pretty, he had to admit—like a perfectly faceted diamond. It was rather large, all things considered, just able to fit in his palm. Colored a light cyan, a sky blue, almost the same hue as Tails' eyes, it slightly reflected Sonic's face back at him in the nighttime. What surprised him, though, was the odd fact that it seemed that he could…_feel_ some of the power of the gem within—it was glowing slightly, as if giving a comforting warmth, reassuring him that it would be all right.

"What the heck's going on?" he mumbled to himself, shaking his head lightly. "This can't be a normal jewel. Maybe it really _is_ real—"

What he wasn't expecting was the sudden pain.

Dark Sonic reared his head back within Sonic's mind when he felt the power of the Chaos Emerald, causing Sonic to break off what he had been saying and to exclaim in agony as he brought one hand up to his temple, where the sharp and sudden pain was emanating from, tripping from the unexpected, sheer agony. He lost his footing and scraped his knees a bit on the rough pavement, but that was the least of his troubles right now as he opened his mouth in a silent scream, before he found his voice again and began to shriek with pain.. Both Dark Sonic and the physical teenaged Sonic screamed with pain, Dark Sonic inside of the teenager's mind, and Sonic aloud, an inhumane, blood-curdling scream of agony as the pain suddenly escalated. He couldn't do anything but scream and scream and scream in the pain, as his darker self shrieked as well.

It seemed that the pain went on forever, that it would never have an end. Thankfully, though, it suddenly stopped, leaving him as if it had never been there in the first place. Sonic was gasping, his throat hoarse with his savage shrieks, the screeches of pain that didn't sound like they were able to be made from human vocal chords. His forehead was damp with his sweat, and some involuntary tears had leaked out of his eyes from the unbearable agony.

Through his slightly misty vision, Sonic looked at the beautiful gem that he was holding after getting over the pain, inspecting it a bit. The aftermath of the pain had left him with a pounding headache, but something nagged at his mind.

Did this gem…was this jewel what had caused Dark Sonic to suddenly scream in pain? If it was, then…

If they got all seven of these Emeralds (which Sonic was now pretty convinced of their reality—what normal gem would make a dark presence in your mind scream with sudden agony?)…was there a way to destroy Dark Sonic? Could Sonic's darker half be vanquished, leaving the teenager alone?

Maybe, just maybe, it was a possibility.

Dark Sonic continued to moan slightly in pain, causing Sonic to wince as he picked up speed once again, heading back to the Academy with a sliver of hope within his heart. Maybe this eternal internal war that he was fighting almost every day now with his darker half would be stopped…and he had to tell Professor Wayne what was happening to him. If he wasn't told, then he wouldn't be able to possibly help Sonic with his predicament.

Because Sonic thought that he might actually have a fighting chance against Dark Sonic. Maybe…

Maybe he could finally be truly free from the omnipresent darkness within his mind.

* * *

><p>Professor Wayne was damn near ecstatic about the fact that a Chaos Emerald had actually been found. It was confirmed that it was a real thing when Shadow simply touched it, and his eyes had widened in surprise as power flowed through him. Sonic also confessed what had happened on the way back to the old man, and telling the Professor about his internal predicament as well, while Shadow was silently waiting on the sidelines, holding back the 'I told you so' that was threatening to bubble through him.<p>

The mind-reader agreed with Sonic, based on the information that he'd been given, that Dark Sonic probably could somehow be defeated with the power of these Chaos Emeralds.

Professor W said that they should find the other six, just so that they could have all seven of them grouped together, just to keep them safe. However, how they were going to do it was the question.

A question that was quickly and obviously answered.

When Tails was informed of a new challenge—to create a device that could track the other locations of the other Chaos Emeralds—his eyes gleamed as he eagerly accepted, ecstatic about having the hardest challenge he'd come across yet.

The Professor announced to the school about what he had learned after the Chaos Emerald had been found—well, stolen by Sonic was a more accurate term. All of the kids had eagerly listened, and had been surprised when he said that he thought that the people who were mutating other children were using some of these Emeralds to cause the unnatural mutations within the kids. They would get their answer when Tails finished the tracker that he was beginning to create, based on the energy of the Chaos Emerald. If there were a few Emeralds grouped together, then the Professor's guess was that those were in the possession of the Eggmen, and were what was allowing them to mutate the children.

At least, that was his theory.

After he had dismissed the students, saying that 'lights out' was going to be in three hours, most of them had begun to mingle amongst themselves, and Sonic had gone over to Blaze, Knuckles, and Rouge.

"Guys," Sonic said quietly, looking at them all with hope dancing lightly in his emerald green eyes, "I think that the Chaos Emeralds might also help me with Dark Sonic."

"Really?" Rouge asked, her turquoise eyes widening.

"How?" Knuckles demanded to know, looking at his close friend with surprise in his violet gaze as well.

Sonic them explained to them about what had happened when he took the Emerald from the museum—how it had affected Dark Sonic unlike anything else had ever affected his dark alter-ego before, and how the Professor thought that it was possibly the one weakness of Dark Sonic.

"If we find all seven of these things, then who knows what could happen? Maybe I can finally get rid of him for good," Sonic finished, unable to hide the slightly hopeful smile that he had on his face. He didn't have to tell Shadow about this, because the ebony-and-crimson-haired teenager had already heard all of this when Sonic had gotten back after completing his 'mission.'

"That's great, man!" Knuckles told him eagerly, actually cracking a grin while he patted Sonic lightly on the back, causing him to slightly stumble forward with the unexpected and accidental strength that the red-haired teen had used in his slightly brotherly gesture.

"I agree with Knuckie," Rouge grinned, making Knuckles' cheeks darken a bit with his anger and embarrassment at that nickname as the bat-winged girl shot him a smirk, before turning back to Sonic. "I'm glad that things'll probably turn out all right."

"That's absolutely wonderful, Sonic!" Blaze said with a smile, wrapping her arms around his neck in a sudden embrace, truly happy for her friend. Sonic's eyes widened for a moment, before he grinned as he eagerly returned her hug, slightly picking her up in his lightly muscular arms, both of them laughing as he lightly spun her around in his hold.

"If things work out as the Professor thinks they will, you won't have to worry about Dark Sonic any more," the princess said after he placed her back on the ground, still hugging him lightly.

"I hope so," Sonic replied, his voice betraying his pure relief that there seemed to be a way out of the internal battle that he fought almost every day. He let go of her as she pulled away from him at the same time, both of them lightly grinning at each other.

"So, that's what Tails has been doing for the past while, huh?" Rouge asked after Sonic had let go of Blaze, smiling a bit internally. They both were so _cute_ together, and they didn't even know it! They would make an absolutely _adorable_ couple, but the white-haired girl knew better than to push things, and that relationships eventually budded in their own time.

"Yeah," Sonic answered with a nod. "Right after I got the Emerald, Professor W got Tails and asked if he could build a tracking device to find the other Emeralds. Of course, he jumped right into it. Knowing Tails, he'll have that thing done by tomorrow."

Just then, a high-pitched, familiar squeal sounded from behind the cobalt-haired boy.

"_SONIC!"_ came Amy's voice from behind him, causing his eyes to widen comically. Without a word, Sonic instantly dashed away, leaving his friends instantly as he ran away from the dreaded voice.

However, Amy had been talking to Shadow, having instantly dragged him aside so that he could fill her in even more about the Chaos Emeralds. She turned her head, confused, as Sonic quickly dashed by them without even noticing that it hadn't been Amy who uttered the sound.

Instantly, annoyance sparked in her eyes, and she turned towards the culprit, who was next to a few other mutants. Among them were Jason, Charmy, and Vector, who were cracking up at the smug look on his face.

"CC, what the hell was that?" Amy demanded, crossing her arms as she turned to face the boy.

Chuck Carter, nicknamed CC, continued to smugly inspect his fingernails before he turned to face Amy. His long-ish shaggy brown hair fell around his face, slightly covering his bright, playful green eyes. His skin was lightly tanned, and he was currently sporting a pair of camouflage shorts along with a black T-shirt. He was eleven years old, and was slightly new to the Academy as well, having only been there for almost two years. His mutation was one that was interesting, to say the least—he had enhanced vocal chords. This enabled him to be able to perfectly imitate anyone's voice, and also any sound effects that he wished, causing people to call his mutation his 'magic voice.' This attributed to his personality—he always loved to make people laugh, and was almost the unelected class clown; not even teachers could hold back their smiles when he did one of his impressive imitations. Even though he did love to cause mischief, however, he was a boy who loved to lend a helping hand whenever he possibly could.

Before he had come to the Academy, CC was born into a family of criminals. As his parents committed their robberies, they forced their son to make false voices over the phone to the cops, so that the authorities could be led away from wherever his parents were making their heist. One day, however, CC had had enough of it, and told the cops the truth, ratting out his parents to them, and ran away before they were arrested. However, even without solid evidence, his parents knew that he had been the one to point fingers to them, and they swore that they would get him back one day. CC was oblivious to his parents' vow for vengeance—however, he had a terrible feeling within his gut that they did wish for revenge. He wandered aimlessly around, feeling slight guilt at what he had done, realizing just how alone he was. Eventually, however, he had been found by John Wayne, who took him back to the Academy, where he easily fit right in with all of the other children there.

"Oh, well," CC began, grinning, "the other guys had a bet on how fast Sonic would run away when he heard your voice. So I decided to test that theory. It was two seconds, guys," he then said, turning around, while Vector let out a triumphant "whoop!" as some of the other boys grudgingly began to hand him money.

"That isn't funny," Amy told them peevishly, rolling her own grass-green eyes with annoyance. While the boys sniggered in response, her eyes dangerously lit up, causing some of the wiser boys to instantly gulp in fear as they stopped their laughter.

"You know, Amy, Sonic runs away from you because you are freaking _scary_," CC informed Amy, smirking at her.

"No, it's not that," Amy objected. "He's just shy, so there. Hmph!" With this, she jerked her head away, causing her short pink bob to lightly swish around her face.

"He's scared," CC said, a devilish grin now on his face. "Who wouldn't be scared if they were in his shoes?" Suddenly, he changed his voice easily, imitating the slightly wheezing, robotic, famous breathing of Darth Vader, before perfectly imitating the deep voice of the Jedi-turned-Sith-turned-Jedi-again. "_Krrrrrrrrrrrrr-kraaaaaaaa_. Sonic…I _am_ your girlfriend!"

This caused the students who had been listening to the conversation suddenly crack up. Even Shadow couldn't resist his own light chuckle as he watched the events transpire in front of him.

Amy's eyes darkened angrily. A few of the wiser people instantly stopped their laughing, but it was too late. Suddenly, the large, red-and-yellow hammer that she affectionately called her Piko-Piko Hammer was now in her grasp. It was huge, almost as big as her, which made it seem almost impossible that she was actually able to hold it, but she was hefting it up as if it was nothing. The boys seemed to notice how much trouble they were in, and CC couldn't resist as he let out a terrified squeak that sounded like it would've come from one of Alvin's Chipmunks, causing some more people to laugh.

It was the last straw.

"YOU LITTLE SON OF A BITCH!" Amy shrieked, running towards the group of boys with a sudden speed that surprised everyone, brandishing her hammer like a foreboding weapon of doom. Which it was, in a sense. Anyone that had been in that little group that had any sense began to run madly for their lives, especially CC, who honestly had no idea what he had done to make her so pissed off that she was currently running after him like a crazed lunatic, trying to smash him with the huge hammer that seemed _way_ too heavy for someone like her to lift.

Once the danger was gone, the other people who had witnessed the scene began to laugh amongst themselves. The little things like this were what they had all begun to appreciate, considering what most of them had been through.

They all knew that there was trouble ahead, based on what the Professor had said. But they knew that, as long as they had each other, that everything would be fine.

* * *

><p>"Cosmo, can you pass me the screwdriver?" Tails asked, his big blue eyes seeming even larger behind the goggled that he was wearing to protect his eyes from what he was working on.<p>

The green-haired girl smiled as she reached over and took the screwdriver, giving it to the fox-tailed boy. After quickly thanking her, he continued to work on his Chaos Emerald radar, completely in the zone with the machine that he was currently working on. The Chaos Emerald itself was over on the side of his work, always close by so that he could run some more tests on it, if he needed to.

Cosmo found it rather cute when Tails would get extremely absorbed in a project, like he was now. His sky-blue eyes were focused, his twin tails curling up a bit unconsciously as he worked hard on the tracker. When he was given a task, he finished it to the best of his ability. Cosmo couldn't help but smile.

"So, Tails, how much longer do you think it'll take before this is finished?" Cosmo asked him.

"Well, I think that I could finish it in just a little bit—I'm almost done! I just need to recalibrate the circuitry to the _precise_ measurements so that it can pick up the electromagnetic pulses that this Chaos Emerald is emitting!" Tails replied eagerly, unknowingly clicking into 'science mode', as Sonic had called it.

Cosmo laughed a bit as he unknowingly used such large vocabulary as he spoke. "Well, that's great! Then, we can start looking for the Emeralds! And maybe we can find out where these people who are mutating the other children are, and maybe we can rescue some of them!" Cosmo looked away. "I'd really like to save someone…"

Tails knew that tone that was creeping into his friend's voice. He took the goggles from his eyes and placed them on his forehead, placing down the welder that he'd been using, as he looked at her.

"Cosmo, it wasn't your fault. The Metarex are gone now, thanks to you," he said softly.

Cosmo shook her head. "I should've been able to…"

Tails gently took her hand in his, and she felt the rubber texture of his glove in her palm. "Cosmo, you couldn't've done anything. You did your best, and you stopped the Metarex in the end."

The Metarex had been a gang, a gang of criminals that were interested in one thing—the beautiful red gem that Cosmo held in her possession. This gem was a special jewel, one that had been passed down Cosmo's family for generations. What made this jewel so special was this: if used in the hands of someone who knew how to harness its power, it could possibly give eternal life.

It was a special gift, one that had to be protected. Cosmo's family had been entrusted with this precious jewel by its creator; however, no one exactly _knew_ who the creator was, but it was rumored that it had been a dragon, one of the dragons that had existed in the very dawn of time before the magnificent creatures became hunted and eventually extinct. Most people never believed in the existence of these creatures, but Cosmo's family always had.

It was a tradition to pass it down to the daughter of the family, the oldest one if there was more than one daughter. As such, Cosmo wasn't supposed to inherit the beautiful stone. And she hadn't at first.

But then, the Metarex had come, and everything had suddenly gone downhill.

A few days before the arrival of the Metarex, the jewel had been passed down to Cosmo's older sister, Galaxina. Cosmo remembered exactly what she looked like—she'd been sixteen, the age that it had been believed that the daughter should be entrusted with the jewel, and had skin as pale as her own, beautiful teal hair, and pinkish-purple eyes that were almost like one of the colors of the beautiful sunset.

Cosmo had been seven years old, and was playing a hand game with her older sister—they were playing Numbers, and had managed to reach eighteen without either of them messing up. It was then that their father and mother, Lucas and Earthia, had come into the room, with Earthia wearing the beautiful red jewel around her neck. She then had called both of her daughters to her, and Galaxina and Cosmo had both gone to their mother.

Earthia had then told them both what her mother had told her—the red jewel had the ability to grant eternal life, and was entrusted to them so that they could protect it and not misuse its power. Only they would know the spell that, when spoken, would give immortality to the person who desired it.

"Galaxina," Earthia said quietly, "I am entrusting you with this gem. Promise me that you will never use it for ill will, and that you will always protect it. Do you understand?"

Galaxina nodded. "Yes, Mother," she replied seriously, and closed her eyes as Earthia placed the necklace around her neck. Cosmo was watching this all, enraptured, after she had climbed up into her father's lap. Lucas was watching the scene with seriousness, but a small smile of pride on his face as well. He had been told about the whole thing from his wife, and was proud that his daughter was now being entrusted with the jewel.

"Pass this down to the first daughter that you have, when she is sixteen years old," Earthia told her eldest daughter, gently, as she kissed her forehead. "And, if you aren't blessed with children, then give it to Cosmo, who will pass it on to her daughter, if she is granted with children." Earthia turned to her second child, smiling a bit. "You understand, right, Cosmo?"

Cosmo nodded as well. "Yes, Mother, I understand," she told the beautiful woman, looking into her mother's lovely blue eyes. Everyone told Cosmo that she looked exactly like her mother, with the green hair and blue eyes and pale skin. She didn't look like her father at all, who had darkly tanned skin, extremely dark red-violet hair, and dark orange eyes—he was almost the complete opposite of her mother, and her as well.

"Good," Earthia smiled. She then stood up, along with Galaxina. "Now, how about we go somewhere out to eat to celebrate?"

"Yes!" her daughters replied, while Lucas grinned as he stood up, still holding his youngest daughter in his arms. Cosmo giggled as she grabbed onto her father, wrapping her small arms around his neck.

"I think we all are in agreement with that," he said, causing Earthia to smile. She walked over to her husband, kissed his cheek gently, and then held onto Cosmo's hand, which she had dropped from around Lucas' neck, now holding onto him with one hand. Galaxina went out of the door, holding it open for the rest of her family, before walking near her mother and father, smiling, as they all walked to the closest restaurant to their home. It seemed perfect, as if nothing could ever go wrong.

And then it all shattered.

A few days later, the Metarex had found out about the whereabouts of the keepers of the sacred red 'jewel of life', as it was sometimes dubbed as. The Metarex themselves were a crazy bunch of men that wore protective armor, making them seem like robots. They'd even changed their names. Their leader was Dark Oak, and under him were people who were named things such as Black Narcissus, Yellow Zelkova, Red Pine, and Pale Bay Leaf. They were the five main leaders of the Metarex, with Dark Oak being the highest, and they wanted nothing more than to get their hands on the red gem so that they could obtain eternal life.

They had attacked in the middle of the night. Cosmo and Galaxina had been sleeping soundly in the room that they shared, before a piercing scream of terror was heard, followed by a sharp cry of pain. Galaxina and Cosmo had jolted awake at the scream, and their eyes widened as they heard the cry of agony.

It had been from their father.

Instantly, they got out of their beds, still wearing their nightgowns, as they ran down to their parents' room, with Galaxina tightly holding onto Cosmo's hand. They then heard the hysterical sobbing of their mother, causing them to run faster.

"Give us the gem, missy," they heard a dark voice say in their parents' room, and Galaxina stopped short, protectively standing in front of Cosmo. She turned around, placing a finger to her lips in a silent gesture to stay quiet, and Cosmo nodded, terrified, clinging onto the nightgown of her older sister.

"I don't have it any more," Earthia replied, her voice breaking. "I don't." She then continued to cry, sobs of pure heartbreak.

"Look, we don't wanna have to kill anyone else. Unless you want more people to join your husband," a different voice said, this one darker, while Galaxina's eyes widened. She shook her head in disbelief, and turned to see Cosmo's eyes begin to well up with tears. She had understood.

Their father was dead.

Galaxina knelt down, and Cosmo ran into her older sister's arms, while the older girl held Cosmo close to her, running her hands through her hair comfortingly.

"I don't have it. Please, just leave me to mourn in peace," Earthia whispered, her voice cracking with her sobs at the loss of her love.

"Even better—you can join him," a slightly sadistic and insane voice said, before Earthia let out a small shriek of pain, before she quickly fell silent. Cosmo couldn't believe what had happened, crying even more into her older sister's bosom while Galaxina felt tears fall down her cheeks from her sadness.

It was then, however, that Galaxina knew what she had to do. She quickly took off the necklace that she was wearing, and pulled away from Cosmo gently for a moment. She then placed the necklace on Cosmo—it seemed the slightest bit big for a little girl like her.

"Galaxina, what—" Cosmo wasn't able to finish her sentence, because her older sister quickly placed her fingers on the little girl's lips.

"Cosmo, it's your job now to guard it," Galaxina told her quietly, her voice slightly breaking with the aftermath of her tears. "Do you understand?"

"But, why?" Cosmo croaked out.

"Please, just…do you understand?" Galaxina asked her yet again, her magenta eyes full of pain.

Cosmo nodded, and Galaxina quickly pulled her little sister into a hug. Cosmo returned it, nearly squeezing the life out of her older sister as she clung to her tightly.

"I love you, Cosmo. Never forget that," Galaxina whispered, hugging her tighter.

"I love you, too, Galaxina. Always," Cosmo told her, burying her head in the crook of Galaxina's neck.

The older girl gently leaned down, so that her mouth was extremely close to Cosmo's ear. "Now, Cosmo, I want you to listen to what I'm going to say. When I tell you to run, you run, do you understand? And please don't argue with me. Just, when I tell you to run, please, run, run and don't look back, OK?"

Cosmo nodded against her sister, and Galaxina held her for a few more seconds, before letting her go and standing up. They then heard footsteps begin to get closer to them, causing Cosmo to whimper.

"Run, Cosmo!" Galaxina hissed, her eyes glaring forward. "Now!"

Cosmo listened, and began to run, listening to her sister and not turning back as she fled for her life. She heard Galaxina's fleet footsteps right behind her as they both ran away. It was then that a voice rang out.

"Stop!" the first voice that had spoken shouted. This only prompted Cosmo and Galaxina to run faster.

"Remember what I said, Cosmo! Go, now!" Galaxina yelled, and Cosmo listened, even though it seemed that Galaxina's voice had gotten fainter, as if she was getting farther away from Cosmo. The little girl ran, terrified.

Then, suddenly, as she ran for a little while longer, an achingly familiar cry sounded out. Galaxina.

"RUN!" Galaxina shouted, and then her voice transformed into wracking coughs. "RUN!"

However, Cosmo stopped. She couldn't keep on, and she turned around, running back to where her sister was.

The sight that greeted her was terrible.

Galaxina was on the floor, her glazed, violet eyes unseeing, blood pooling around her throat. She was gone.

Cosmo was barely able to see through the tears that now obscured her vision as she glared up at the Metarex, who were all looking at her now. Cosmo fell to the ground in sobs, while the Metarex advanced on her.

"So you're the last one, huh?" one of them, clad in yellow robotic armor, lumbered forward as he walked over the dead body of Galaxina. "Well, you're a little shrimp. Do you…" However, he didn't have to finish, his eyes widening as he caught sight of the beautiful red gem resting around her neck.

"She has it!" the man in the red armor shouted, as he began to advance upon Cosmo.

"Wait, Red Pine!" the one in black warned. "Maybe it's a fake."

"Really, Black Narcissus? Why would it be a fake?" the white-armored one asked sarcastically.

"Pale Bay Leaf, you really _are_ an idiot. You never thought that people would be smart enough to switch things?" Black Narcissus demanded to know. "She probably has the fake, and she probably knows where the real one is. In fact, I would've done that myself."

"So, where's the real one?" the one clad in yellow armor asked, walking right up to her.

"She won't answer you, Yellow Zelkova," Black Narcissus replied, his voice suggesting that he was rolling his eyes. "She's too shocked right now."

Cosmo was barely registering the conversation that they were al having with one another, only seeing Galaxina's body in front of her as she sobbed. First her parents, now her sister.

"All of you, step aside," a deep voice, filled with authority, demanded, and instantly, the bickering between the four stopped. Cosmo looked up to see the largest robot-man above her, clad in dark brown armor. He even had a long cape attached to his shoulders.

"Is this the last one?" he demanded, turning around to the other four men-turned-robots-or-whatever.

"Yes, Dark Oak," Pale Bay Leaf replied. "Everyone else is dead."

Hearing that made something suddenly snap within Cosmo as she continued to sob. Her eyes suddenly widened, her breathing speeding up the slightest bit, as her pale fingers clutched the gem on her necklace.

"Give us the gem, girl," Dark Oak demanded of her, extending a slightly clawed hand towards her in expectance. "If you don't then we'll kill you. If you do, then we'll consider letting you live."

Cosmo shakily drew in a breath, before she began to speak in a quivering voice.

"You killed my family…all of them…" she croaked out, her voice shaking. Small thorns began to sprout through the floor of the house, forming around the bottoms of the feet of the Metarex., unknowingly to both Cosmo and the Metarex themselves.

However, the thorns suddenly began to grow in their size, suddenly shooting up out of the ground. The Metarex were shocked as the thorns twisted around their robotic armor, winding and curling tightly around them as they were lifted up into the air. Instantly, they tried to use their guns, but they were somehow blocked off with twisting tendrils of ivy that continued to grow and grow, no matter how much they tried to stop it. They dangled helplessly in the air, trying to get out, but unable to escape the deadly grips of the thorns that were holding them captive.

"Y-you k-k-killed th-them!" Cosmo shouted, her voice constantly breaking as she sobbed. "I H-HATE YOU!"

The robot-men—they were so merged with their robotic armor that they would even call themselves cyborgs, even—were hefted even higher as the thorns kept their tight hold on their metal armor. They struggled to get out, but it was completely useless for them to try and escape from the choking hold that the plants had on them.

It was then that Cosmo looked up, realizing what she'd done. Her dark blue eyes were now wide with pure shock, still shiny and red and puffy from her tears.

Then, she snapped to her senses, and, as quickly as she could, called the police.

After that, everything was a blur. The Metarex were taken to prison, where they rightfully should be; the police asked Cosmo how the thorns had managed to capture the cyborgs, and she lied that she had no idea; she told them about the murder of her sister and parents, and they were given a proper funeral and burial while she sobbed with heartbreak throughout the whole thing; she refused to be brought into a foster home, and had run away…

And she had finally met Professor Wayne, who then brought her back to the Academy. She'd been here for two years, and had fit in nicely with the other kids in the group.

However, she always felt angry at the fact that she'd been unable to do anything to prevent the deaths of her family members. It was why she always tried to save someone whenever she was possibly able to.

"Cosmo, you tried," Tails told her quietly as she snapped back to the present. "It's OK."

Cosmo took a deep breath, and she nodded. "I know. Thanks, Tails."

The little fox-tailed boy grinned at her. "No problem. Hey, can you give me the wrench?"

"Sure thing," Cosmo answered, grinning now as she reached for the wrench, giving it to him. Tails took it, offering her a quick thanks, before he continued to work on the device after he placed his goggles back on his eyes. Cosmo grinned at that.

Yes, she hadn't been able to save her family from the Metarex. However, she had been able to end their threats once and for all. She'd gained a new home and new, true friends, who accepted her for who she was.

Just like most of the children at the Academy for Mutants, she was glad that she'd been brought here. Even though she'd gone through quite a bit, the good spirits of the kids here had helped her heal. She'd learned how to forgive herself, that her parents' and sister's deaths weren't her fault.

New, true friends, and a safe home. Honestly, Cosmo couldn't ask for anything better.

* * *

><p><strong>Heyyy, guys! Well, I'm gonna be totally honest with you here—I was completely blank at how to write the beginning of this chapter until about a month ago, after rereading a review that one of my lovely reviewers had given, and I was suddenly struck my inspiration. Then, after I wrote the first half. I got stuck and couldn't write for another two weeks, because our schedule was all screwed up because my family was all going on vacation and it took a while for us to pack up. And then, I finished most of the chapter today, and am very eager to get it out.<strong>

**Not that anyone cares about that! XD anyways, well, I hope this chapter suffices! A little break from the extremely dark stuff…yeah, the last chappie was pretty dark, but here's a little break from all of that. What'd you think of it? I hope this was worth the wait. Oh, and the idea for Cosmo's past just _totally_ hit me, like, yesterday, and I just HAD to put it down! I hope you guys thought it was all right, hope this was worth the wait! Oh, wait, I said that already…oh well!**

**Anyways, please review! Getting reviews makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and may also prompt me to write more chapters faster! :D So…please review and leave your thoughts, guys, they're literally what I run on! XD**


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